KUALA LUMPUR, May 30 — The latest Harimau Malaya heritage player, Gabriel Palmero, turned to YouTube to memorise the national anthem Negaraku ahead of his international debut against Cape Verde in a Tier 1 international match here last night.
The 23-year-old defender, who performed impressively, said he practised hard to sing Negaraku as best as he could.
“I tried. I watched YouTube and practised a lot to sing the anthem,” he told reporters after the friendly, which saw Malaysia hold world number 72 Cape Verde to a 1-1 draw at the Kuala Lumpur Football Stadium in Cheras.
The match saw Paulo Josue get off the bench to score an equaliser in the 79th minute and deny Cape Verde victory after Sidny Lopes Cabral had given them an early eighth-minute lead.
Palmero, who played for about 80 minutes before being substituted, impressed on the right side and came close to scoring himself after his long-range strike hit the post in just the seventh minute.
The Spanish CD Tenerife B player said he had no issues adapting to his new teammates and that helped him perform well in the game.
“My English isn’t perfect but I try to speak and communicate. Football is a universal language, so it’s easy to connect with my teammates on the pitch,” he said.
Malaysia will face Cape Verde a second time in a friendly played behind closed doors at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on Tuesday (June 3).
The friendlies against Cape Verde are part of Malaysia’s preparations for the crucial games against Vietnam in their second Group F match of the 2027 Asian Cup Qualifiers at the National Stadium on June 10.
Vietnam and Malaysia jointly top the group with three points each after winning their opening matches. — Bernama
