KUALA LUMPUR − Malaysia must continue playing with speed and intensity − as practised by most of the giants of the game − in the third round of the 2023 Asian Cup qualifiers in June, according to local sports analyst and football observer Dr. Pekan Ramli.
He said this tactical approach, which was put into practice by new head coach Kim Pan-gon in the two Tier-1 international friendlies recently, was just the type of playing style that is demanded in the modern-day game.
According to him, what Pan-gon could do to maximise the national team’s potential after this would be to rope in players with the appropriate attributes and, thus, help the South Korean coach achieve his main objective.
“To me, what Pan-gon is trying to instil is good already but we also know that he needs a little more time because to continue playing this brand of football, he will need individuals with a high level of skill in terms of ball control, passing and speed of thought.
“There are players who are agile and fit to play a fast game but lack the speed of thought when it comes to decision making on the field… this can disrupt the team’s playing rhythm,” he said when contacted by Bernama yesterday.
In the opening match of the FAS Tri-Nations Series friendly in Singapore, the world number 154th-ranked Harimau Malaya kicked off a new era under Pan-gon with an impressively dominant 2-0 win over the Philippines, who are ranked 129th in the world.
However, the Harimau Malaya failed to maintain their momentum and fell 2-1 to Singapore, who are ranked 161 in the world, in their next match to hand Pan-gon his first loss since being appointed national head coach in January.
Pekan, who is also the head of the Sports Section of the Higher Education Ministry, said that looking at the team’s displays in the two friendlies, the Harimau Malaya seem to be struggling to maintain consistency.
He said among the most obvious weaknesses were the lack of understanding between the defenders and attacking ideas as well as poor finishing.
“Overall, there are many flaws that we need to work on but there are plus points, especially in terms of the playing speed and rhythm that have been instilled by Pan-gon. It’s just that our players still lack proper teamwork.
“They (the players) are still not cohesive enough, especially when Pan-gon made changes (during matches). We can see that the changes affected the existing combinations and this will be a problem if not addressed,” he said.
In the 2023 Asian Cup qualifiers, Malaysia have been drawn in Group E with Bahrain (world number 89), Turkmenistan (134th) and Bangladesh (186th). All the matches will be held at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
The Harimau Malaya are aiming to qualify for the 2023 Asian Cup finals, having last appeared in the finals of the 2007 edition as co-hosts.
It has also been over 40 years since Malaysia last qualified automatically for the Asian Cup finals in the 1980 edition in Kuwait. – Bernama, March 29, 2022
