KUALA LUMPUR – Harimau Malaya will be facing their toughest challenge tomorrow in their AFF Cup campaign as they take on Vietnam for their third Group B stage match at the My Dinh National Stadium in Hanoi.
Vietnam, which is 96 in Fifa’s ranking, have been among the favourites to claim the AFF Cup title this year, with their last win coming in 2018 when they defeated the 145th ranked Malaysia 3-2 on aggregate.
A win tomorrow would see Malaysia advance into the knockout stages, but head coach Kim Pan-gon is aware of the challenge ahead of him.
“As we all know, Vietnam is one of the strongest teams in Southeast Asia.
“But we are well recovered and confident that the tiredness and weather will not be a factor for the match tomorrow,” he said at the pre-match press conference today.
Pan-gon will also be going up against fellow South Korean Park Hang-seo, who has been with the Vietnamese side since September 2017.
“He (Hang-seo) is a very respected coach in South Korea. He is a more senior coach compared to me but is very respectful.
“I am proud and honoured that I can compete with him on this stage. I will try my best to compete with him with full respect,” said Pan-gon.
He also added that the Vietnamese team has done a lot in the recent years, but the Malaysian squad also deserves their fair share of praises.
“What Vietnam has done in the past few years has shown great results for their people.
“But our Malaysian national team has also gone through tough situations in the last one year.
“We have managed them well especially during tough games. We are not afraid of anything in front of us and will fight strongly against Vietnam,” he added.
Meanwhile, Harimau Malaya frontman Muhammad Faisal Abdul Halim is looking forward to his first match against the Vietnam senior squad.
Faisal, who has been a scoring machine in recent matches as he managed the solitary goal against Myanmar and made it a double for himself during Malaysia’s 5-0 win against Laos, said he would love to score more, but the win comes first.
“I need to continue my scoring run to help my teammates.
“But even if I don’t score, it is not a problem for me. The most important thing is that I can help my team to secure the three points,” he said.
The Penang-born player, who will be playing for Selangor FC next season, said opportunities to play for the national team do not come around often, but getting to play under coach Pan-gon is something special.
“For me, when you have a chance like this, you have to take it because it does not come around often.
“Everyone knows that it is hard to play with coach Pan-gon, but they also enjoy it that is why the team is different now.
“All the players need to give 120% because I don’t want to lose for my teammates, my family, and for the Malaysian fans. I want all of them to be proud of the team,” he added.
After their match against Vietnam, Harimau Malaya will return to home soil for their final group stage match against Singapore on January 3 at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium. – The Vibes, December 26, 2022
