Friendly matches are to assess new players while maintaining cohesion and momentum of team

SEPANG - National football chief coach Tan Cheng Hoe is looking to get the right results from the upcoming two tier-1 friendly matches in Jordan later this month despite the absence of many key players.

With only 22 players in the squad, Cheng Hoe hopes the two friendlies would help further strengthen teamwork apart from assessing the performances of several new faces.

“Any coach would want  both (results and exposure) if possible. The matches will be good exposure for the new players while we also want to ensure team cohesion and momentum is maintained.

“Since the squad has not played as a team for more than a year, the lack of understanding is obvious,” he said at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport early this morning.

Malaysia who are ranked 154 in the world will be meeting Jordan (ranked 93rd) at King Abdullah II Stadium in Amman on Wednesday and Uzbekistan (ranked 84th) at the International Stadium in Amman on October 9.

Cheng Hoe said he would be trying out various combinations to form a more powerful team after the uninspiring outing of the national team in the second qualifying round of World Cup 2022 / Asian Cup 2023 in the United Arab Emirates in June.

“We know this is the best time to check out the new players, including the senior players who will form for the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Cup 2020 and the Asian Cup qualifying squads,” he said.

Harimau Malaya will be competing in the AFF Cup 2020 in Singapore in December before continuing the mission to hunt for a slot in the Asian Cup 2023 in the third qualifying round next year.

Meanwhile, Cheng Hoe said the selection of the squad to Jordan was not due to pressure from several quarters to drop non performing players.

“The reshuffle is not due to the (outside) pressure as my priority is to create a large pool of players so that if players are injured or suspended, others are ready to step in,” he said.

Malaysia have drawn and lost twice in the four encounters against Jordan and not beaten Uzbekistan in six meetings. - Bernama, October 2, 2021