HANOI: Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) president Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin(pix) believes the national Under-23 squad have what it takes to cause an upset in the ongoing 31st SEA Games here.
He said this was based on the thorough planning by head coach Brad Maloney and the young national team since the AFC Under-23 Asian Cup Qualifiers in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia last October.
“This team have the characteristics to cause an upset or even succeed in the SEA Games, Insya-Allah.
“But in football, we need to work hard and we hope this team will succeed... I have faith in them,” he said when met during dinner with local media covering the SEA Games here yesterday.
He said the SEA Games was also the perfect stage for Maloney’s charges to prove themselves ahead of the AFC Under-23 Asian Cup Finals in Uzbekistan in June.
So far, Malaysia are top of Group B in the SEA Games after one win when they beat Thailand (2-1 on May 7). The young Malaysian side will face Laos in their second group match at the Thien Truong Stadium in Nam Dinh, Vietnam tonight.
Malaysia will wrap up their group B fixtures with matches against Singapore on Saturday (May 14) and Cambodia (May 16), with the two top teams advancing to the semi-finals.-Bernama