BANGKOK, Dec 3 — The Harimau Malaya squad landed in Bangkok today and immediately took to the field for a training session.
There is a sense of urgency in the national team as they seek to do the almost-impossible when they take on Thailand in the AFF Suzuki Cup semi-final, second-leg clash at the Rajamangala Stadium here on Wednesday.
The teams drew 0-0 in the first-leg at the National Stadium, Bukit Jalil last Saturday.
In today’s one-hour training session at the Kasetsart University Stadium, located about 30 minutes away from Bangkok, head coach Tan Cheng Hoe cracked the whip as he put his men through their paces.
The media was allowed to be at the stadium for 15 minutes and a few Thai media representatives used the opportunity to record the Malaysians’ training session, which was also watched by Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) president Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin.
The national team earlier landed at the Suvarnabhumi Airport at about 1.25pm and were welcomed by the Malaysian ambassador to Thailand Datuk Jojie Samuel and embassy staff.
Malaysia face an uphill task in the return leg as Thailand, also known as the War Elephants and is coached by wily Serbian Milovan Rajevan, are determined to win the Cup for a third consecutive time after lifting it in 2014 and 2016.
In the other semi-final, Vietnam welcome the Philippines to Hanoi knowing they already have one foot in the final after carving out a 2-0 win in the first leg in Manila. — Bernama
