KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 1 — Glad to be part of the Harimau Malaya squad, Spanish-Malaysian midfielder Natxo Insa has vowed to help Malaysia do well at the Asian Cup 2023 in Doha, Qatar, from January 12 to February 10.

With 20 years of professional football experience, the 37-year-old Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) player claimed he is more mature and capable of keeping his cool during high-pressure games, which will benefit Kim Pan Gon’s squad.

“I am so happy to be here, this is an important tournament, so I expect I can help the team to achieve great things. With my experience of around 20 years of professional football, in terms of tranquility, I can see things more calmly but to be honest we have a really good team.

“We have good players, young players who obtained great exposure this year — they have good experience, so I think it’s going to be good for all,” he said when met before the team left for Doha, Qatar at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) Terminal 1, last night.

Malaysia, who ended their 42-year wait to qualify for the Asian Cup on merit, will begin the Group E campaign against Jordan on January 15, followed by Bahrain (January 20) and two-time champions South Korea on January 25.

Despite facing higher-ranked teams in the group, Natxo believes Malaysia have a chance to qualify for the round of 16.

“Of course they (opponents) are good teams but I think we have a good squad...so why can’t we get pass the group stage, I think we must believe and go game by game and work hard,” he said.

Only the champions and runners-up of each group along with the four best third teams, will qualify for the round of 16 in Doha.

Malaysia have never advanced to the last 16 of the Asian Cup in the previous three editions.

In the meantime, Natxo said the current national team has become more professional in all aspects compared to the last time he was with the team in 2018.

Natxo who had one appearance with Malaysia during a 2-2 draw against Mongolia in 2018 said what is being done now makes the players to be better role models for the next generation. — Bernama