PETALING JAYA: The Harimau Malaya, under coach Kim Pan Gon, must be extra cautious of the threat from South Korea in Group E of the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup in Qatar next January.
Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) president Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin said that besides being the best team in Asia, South Korea are also a world-class team as they have competed in the FIFA World Cup many times.
Apart from world number 27 South Korea, Malaysia have also been pitted with Jordan (world number 84) and Bahrain (world number 85) in Group E during the recent draw in Qatar.
“We must tread with caution because the teams in our group as among the best in Asia. If we look at South Korea, they are not just the best in Asia but they also have World Cup pedigree,” he told reporters at the FAM Hari Raya celebration at Wisma FAM here today.
As such, in preparation for the AFC Asian Cup, which will be held from Jan 12 to Feb 10, 2024, Hamidin said the FAM are formulating the best preparation for the national team, including holding several friendlies from next month.
On the target set for Pan Gon at the Asian Cup, Hamidin said they hope the Harimau Malaya will get at least a point from every game.
“I hope we do not end up losing all our matches. If we can qualify for the last 16, that will be a good achievement because it will raise our world ranking,” he said.
Commenting on the dismal performance of the national Under-22 team at the recently-concluded Cambodia SEA Games, he said FAM are awaiting a complete performance report from head coach E. Elavarasan.
“This was his (Elavarasan’s) first time managing the Under-22 squad at the SEA Games, so we must wait for the report from him and the technical team for our technical director and main team coach Pan Gon to evaluate.
“The report should be ready next week. Then, from there, we will look at the team’s overall performance at the Cambodia SEA Games,” he said. - Bernama
