PETALING JAYA – National Under 23 (U-23) head coach Brad Maloney is more than satisfied with his team’s performance ahead of the 2022 Asean Football Federation (AFF) U-23 Championship in Phnom Penh, Cambodia from February 14 to 26.
The squad which is set to leave for Cambodia on Saturday, drew 1-1 with 2021 Malaysia Cup 2021 champions Kuala Lumpur (KL) City FC in a friendly at the Selangor State Development Corporation (PKNS) Sports Complex here today.
The result also saw the national side maintain an unbeaten record in the warm-up series following a 1-1 draw against Sabah FC last Saturday.
“I think the players have done quite well, they’ve come a long way in a short period of time, and we’ve asked them to absorb a lot of information which they have been able to put on in the match and try to duplicate what we’ve done in training. So far, so good,” he said when met after the match.
Maloney, however, refused to set a specific target for the team at the tournament.
“As we said all the way through, this is an opportunity for some of the younger ones to gain exposure at international level and also give exposure to those players that haven’t played much at this level before,” he said.
In today’s match, a deflected goal from Mohammad Zharmien Ashraf Ismail’s long-range effort in the 90th minute cancelled out KL City FC’s goal in the 73rd minute through Giancarlo Gallifuoco’s header.
In the meantime, Maloney confirmed he will bring 28 players to Cambodia.
The national Under-23 squad, who have been drawn in Group B, will begin their campaign against Myanmar at the Prince Stadium on February 15.
Maloney’s boys will then face Laos on February 18 at the same venue before finishing their group fixtures against Indonesia at the Morodok Techo National Stadium on February 21.
The three group winners and best-placed runners-up will advance to the semi-finals on February 24, with the final set for February 26. – Bernama, February 11, 2022
