DOHA, Jan 17 — Naturalised striker Paulo Josue realised after a rocky start that Malaysia’s goal of making history by advancing to the 2023 Asian Cup round of 16 depends heavily on its performance against world number 86, Bahrain.
The Brazilian-born player said the Harimau Malaya still have a chance to qualify for the knockout stage if they manage to steal three points against Dilmun’s Warriors when both teams lock horns in their second Group E match at the Jassim Bin Hammad Stadium, this Saturday.
However, the 34-year-old Kuala Lumpur City FC player expects the clash will be a fierce match as Bahrain are also chasing three points after losing 1-3 to two-time champions South Korea in their opening match.
“We are still in the tournament, we still have a chance so we need to prepare for the next match, and forget about our loss.
“It will be a tough game, we watched Bahrain, they made a lot of trouble for South Korea. So we need to plan well to see what’s the best for the game and go there, go all out to try to collect points to qualify,” he said when met here.
Meanwhile, winger Mohamad Faisal Abdul Halim, who is also optimistic that Malaysia still have a chance to reach the knockout round, urged his teammates to rise to victory and present a sterling performance against Bahrain
The Selangor FC player said that defeat is normal in football, but as professional players they need to quickly forget bad results and focus on the next game.
The hopes of Malaysia led by South Korean coach Kim Pan Gon to get a positive result in their first appearance after 17 years in the Asian Cup was not achieved after falling 0-4 to Jordan at the Al Janoub Stadium here on Monday (early Tuesday morning Malaysia time).
After meeting Bahrain, Pan Gon’s men, who are ranked 130th in the world, will face South Korea in the final group action at the Al Janoub Stadium on January 25.
Only the champions and runners-up of each group along with the four best third-placed teams will qualify for the round of 16.
This is Malaysia’s fourth appearance in the Asian Cup after qualifying on merit in 1976 in Iran and 1980 in Kuwait and as co-hosts in 2007, but Malaysia exited at the group stage in the previous three editions. — Bernama