KUALA LUMPUR, June 1 — Harimau Malaya coach, Tan Cheng Hoe believes the presence of Belgium-Malaysia player Dion Cools could beef up the team in the World Cup 2022/ Asian Cup 2023 second round qualifier matches.
Cheng Hoe said the player who has European Champions League experience may be given the role of defence with captain Aidil Zafuan Abdul Radzak.
This is more so when top defender Mohd Shahrul Mohd Saad was injured during the friendly matches with Kuwait and Bahrain recently.
However, 25-year-old Cools has just joined the training camp and has only a short stint to be fielded against United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Thursday.
“We have given him some task, homework on our way of play, show him some videos of our team playing, tactical movements and defending style. I think he is a fast learner and willing to learn, we will monitor his development,” he said in a virtual conference today.
The 1.85m tall Kuching-born has been fielded 32 times by his club FC Midtylland in the 2019/20 and 2020/21 seasons as well as three times in the European Champions League. — Bernama
