KUALA LUMPUR: National football team head coach Kim Pan Gon (pix) has thrown down the gauntlet to his charges to continue surprising him when they meet Tajikistan in the Thailand King’s Cup final match, tomorrow night.
The South Korean said this was due to the fact that Harimau Malaya players have exceeded his expectation in every single match they played ever since he was appointed as the new national team boss in January.
“I am looking forward to see our players’ reaction because they always surprised me. Hopefully, our players will have full confidence (against Tajikistan) tomorrow,” he told a pre-match press conference in Chiang Mai, today.
Pan Gon had also made a promise to Malaysian fans that his players will give a good fight on the pitch against Petar Segert’s side and try to end Malaysia’s 44-year-end drought after they last clinched the cup in 1978.
He was also confident that world number 148 Malaysia would overcome the pressure should the match will be decided in the penalty shootout, as they had experienced and won the penalties against the host country, Thailand, 5-3, on Thursday.
In the meantime, Pan Gon said Tajikistan, ranked 102 in FIFA rankings, shared a few similarities with Turkmenistan, the squad that they beat 3-1 in their first Group E match of the 2023 Asian Cup Qualifiers in June, as both teams were from Central Asia zone.
“I think certain cultures and physical could be similar but what I can say is that the practical approach is really different for both teams. I think Tajikistan is a bit stronger than Turkmenistan,” he added.
The last time both countries met was in 2019 where Malaysia won 1-0 in the international friendly in National Stadium, Bukit Jalil.
Meanwhile, Pan Gon did not discount the possibility that he could make several changes in the starting line-up against Tajikistan, who qualified to the final after beating Trinidad & Tobago, 2-1, in the other match.
“I think so because we have a good squad and anyone can play. In the last tournament (2023 Asian Cup Qualifiers), we use a lot of different players and they still show a great performance,” he said.
Apart from winning the Thailand King’s Cup in 1978, Malaysia had also won the tournament in 1972, 1976, and 1977.-Bernama