KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 1 — The national football team will gain valuable experience ahead of next year’s 2023 Asian Cup Finals when they face Syria and China in the two Tier 1 international friendlies in Chengdu, China in September.
Besides taking on two teams ranked in the top 100 in the world, coach Kim Pan Gon’s Harimau Malaya outfit will also be facing a different kind of challenge when they compete overseas for the first time in seven months, having tasted four straight friendly victories on home soil previously.
National football legend Datuk Jamal Nasir Ismail said the team will face many differences and challenges when playing away from home and this, in turn, can reveal the true colours of the national players, especially with the Asian Cup Finals in Qatar set to kick off next January.
“Of course (they will gain valuable experience) because, firstly, we won’t be playing on home ground. There are many differences, such as the weather and pressure from the home fans. Secondly, we will be playing against two higher-ranked teams.
“This will surely highlight their capabilities, whether or not they can handle such pressure. This should have been done earlier because we need more competitive matches instead of playing against lower-ranked teams,” he said when contacted by Bernama today.
World number 136-ranked Malaysia will take on Syria (world number 94) on September 6 before facing hosts China (world number 80) on September 9.
Jamal Nasir, who was a member of the national team who qualified for the 1980 Moscow Olympics in Russia, said the national team must win their matches in China or, at least, put up a good performance and not be “bullied”.
“Even if we don’t win, the national team must show they are a match against Syria and China. I feel that Pan Gon must use these two matches to field the first team that he intends to take to the Asian Cup,” said the 68-year-old.
The former Pahang defender said more attention would be on the national team if they can overcome the higher-ranked teams and this will, in turn, provide Malaysia with more opportunities to test their mettle against the world’s top teams.
The Harimau Malaya won four straight friendlies in the previous Fifa international match window, having defeated Turkmenistan 1-0 and Hong Kong 2-0 in Johor in March before trouncing the Solomon Islands 4-1 and Papua New Guinea 10-0 in Terengganu in June.
In the 2023 Asian Cup Finals, Malaysia are drawn in Group E with two-time champions South Korea, Jordan and Bahrain. — Bernama
