KUALA LUMPUR, May 24 – The writing was on the wall, but the 4-1 defeat to Kuwait at The Sevens Stadium in Dubai on Sunday is certainly not the end of the world for Malaysian football as they chase a place to advance to the next round from Group G in the World Cup 2022/Asia Cup 2023 qualifiers.
Malaysia’s hopes are as good as others in the group – Vietnam, Thailand, the United Arab Emirate – all confident of cutting their rivals out.
The other team in the group is winless Indonesia. Vietnam leads the group with 11 points from five matches followed by Malaysia on nine, Thailand eight, and UAE (from four matches) on six points. Indonesia is at the bottom without a point.
The Kuwait friendly is the first of two lined up for Malaysia which will be utilised by national football chief coach Tan Cheng Hoe to try out his 25-member squad before identifying his team.
Malaysia’s next friendly is against Bahrain in Manama this Friday. For the record, Malaysia is ranked 153 in the world while Kuwait is 148 and Bahrain 99.Friendlies give you the chance to try out your combination – more so when the Harimau Malaya last played an international game some 18 months back – thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic which has hit sports hard.
The strict operating procedures (SOP) imposed by the government curtailed sporting activities and football was not spared.
Cheng Hoe was quick to admit that the result and the performance was “disappointing” and will not use any excuse…like not having played a match in 18 months to sum up the negative outing.
“Frankly, the newcomers have yet to gel with the rest. I don’t blame them but it is something I expected. We have to move on and use the Kuwait match to up our ante for the match against Bahrain and also our (competitive) matches in the group,” said Cheng Hoe from Dubai.
Cheng Hoe is extremely concerned with his defence without the tried and tested Shahrul Saad who was left behind due to a knee injury.
He is also not blaming goalkeeper Khairul Azhan Khalid for letting in three goals after replacing Farizal Marlias. Khairul was later replaced by newcomer Samuel Somerville who plays for Penang FC in the Malaysian Super League.
”The players themselves are disappointed with their performance. They are aware that they are capable of of a better performance. Now, we have to pull up our socks and take stock of the shortcomings. It was defensive lapses that saw us crumble, ” added the former international.
Apart from Gambia-born Mohamadou Sumareh, Malaysia have added two more naturalised players to the team – Brazilian hitman Guilherme de Paula and Kosovo-born playmaker Liridon Krasniqi.
Guilherme scored Malaysia’s consolation goal against Kuwait. He scored in the 28th minute after Kuwait opened scoring through Ahmad Aldhefeery on 21 minutes.
Kuwait’s other scorers were Fahad Alhajeri (55th minute), Shahab Alkhaldi (61st) and Fahad Al-Alabraim in the 68th minute.
The Malaysians leave for Manama at 3pm (Malaysian Time) on Tuesday.
In the second round matches in Group G, Malaysia faces tough hurdles, starting with UAE on June 3 followed by Vietnam on June 11 before completing their mission against Thailand on June 15.
(*Pic credit to FAM Media)
About The Author
