KUALA LUMPUR, June 6 — Timor Leste head coach Norio Tsukitate has applauded the Malaysian team ahead of their 2022 World Cup/2023 Asian Cup joint qualification first-leg match tomorrow night.
The 59-year-old Japanese coach came with full of praises for the Harimau Malaya squad during the pre-match press conference, a day before the tie at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium.
“Many Malaysian players are the top players in Asean level. I saw Malaysia play against Nepal on Sunday; the team was well organised, almost 90 per cent possession, where Nepal played defensively.
“It was difficult for Malaysia to find goals, but they looked relaxed and managed to score through a penalty and free kick. This is normal in football. We have young players, maybe in future our players will reach this level,” he said.
The Harimau Malaya squad, ranked 168th in world, won the match 2-0 through Safawi Rashid’s spot kick in the 51st minute and Shahrul Saad’s header in the 82nd minute.
Talking about the Rising Sun’s preparation, Norio said the world number 195 team have been training for a week after taking a break from their domestic league, which was just introduced three years ago.
“Tomorrow’s game not so easy; maybe I can expect something from the players…I have not thought about the strategy yet, maybe I will think after tomorrow for the second match (on Sunday).
“But I told my players to attack, run behind and pass play, and try to score, while when defending, get back to positions and block the circle, that’s all. This is very difficult, when attack, difficult to get back (to defence) and too much dribble during attacking…This is very basic, we have to focus on this, very important,” he said.
When asked about the game play and pitch conditions if it rains, Norio jokingly said: “If heavy rain, I have no idea…Maybe I have to tell the players to not forget to bring soap and shampoo.”
For the record, Timor Leste have never won against Malaysia, having lost 0-1, 0-3 twice and tied 1-1 during their four clashes in the previous World Cup and Asian Cup qualifiers.
Meanwhile, winger Joao Pedro da Silva is disappointed that both legs of the qualifiers will be played in Malaysia, after the Timor Leste Football Federation agreed to the arrangement because none of the pitches in the former Portuguese colony passed the requirements for an international match.
“Of course very disappointing for us, because we have to play home game in away country. In my opinion, we should play in our country because if we play in our home, we have a good chance to win against Malaysia in the second leg, especially when we have developed a lot with the domestic league.
“However, we will do everything tomorrow for the best result. Though not easy, we have to make sure that everything will be good; we will do our best tomorrow,” said Joao, who plays for Thai League 3 outfit, North Bangkok University. — Bernama
