KUALA LUMPUR, June 9 — Vietnam head coach Kim Sang Sik is finding it difficult to analyse the Harimau Malaya’s game ahead of their second Group F match in the 2027 Asian Cup Qualifiers at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil here tomorrow night.
The South Korean coach said that this was due to the composition of head coach Peter Chlamovski’s Malaysian squad, which has a mix of local, naturalised and heritage players.
“I think it will be a difficult match. From what I know, Malaysia have 18 players in the squad and there are five new faces for the game against Vietnam.”
“It’s true, we are having a hard time evaluating their players, there is not much information for us, but we are preparing well. We aim to be ready and put up a strong performance tomorrow,” he told a pre-match press conference here today.
The 48-year-old coach was referring to the inclusion of five new heritage players in the Harimau Malaya squad — forwards Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca and Joao Figueiredo; and defenders Jon Irazabal and Facundo Garces.
Their arrival completes the list of seven heritage players in the national team this year, following the earlier inclusion of midfielder Hector Hevel and defender Gabriel Palmero.
Meanwhile, Golden Star Warriors captain Do Duy Manh also believes that the presence of these heritage players in the Malaysian squad will make tomorrow’s match a tough one, despite his team’s favourable head-to-head record against the Harimau Malaya.
“There are many foreign players. They are very good players. Tomorrow’s match will not be easy for us, but we have our goals and determination. This match won’t be like 2018. Malaysia have a new coach and a new squad,” he said.
Duy Manh was, of course, referring to the 2018 Asean Football Federation (AFF) Cup final where he helped Vietnam defeat Malaysia 3-2 on aggregate.
Vietnam and Malaysia currently share the top spot in Group F with three points each after winning their opening matches.
For the record, Malaysia last defeated Vietnam 4-2 in the semi-finals of the 2014 AFF Cup in Hanoi and, since then, have lost seven times and drawn once against the Golden Star Warriors across all competitions.
“This will be the most important match, (and) could be the most difficult match to advance to the 2027 Asian Cup. We will do our best to win tomorrow’s match. If we can play to our strengths, like playing as a team and attacking as a unit, we can get the points,” said Duy Manh. — Bernama
