KUALA LUMPUR – As part of their 2023 Asian Cup preparations, the Harimau Malaya squad will be participating in the Tier 1 International Matches in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Scheduled to take place from September 20 until September 26, Malaysia will play against hosts Thailand, Tajikistan, and Trinidad and Tobago.
In the Fifa rankings, all three teams are ranked higher than Malaysia – with Thailand ranked 111th, Tajikistan at 108th, and Trinidad and Tobago in 101st, while the national team is ranked 147th in the world.
For head coach Kim Pan-gon and his men, the opportunity to compete with higher-ranked teams will be utilised to further improve Harimau Malaya’s performance and game quality.
“We need to maintain our focus and look forward to upcoming international matches in September and the AFF Cup in December as part of our Asian Cup preparations.
“Aside from achieving positive results and further improving our performances from the matches in Chiang Mai, we also want to use this opportunity to refine our playing style and philosophy to perfection,” said Pan-gon.
The format for the upcoming international matches will see all four teams play knockout matches in two semi-final matches.
The winning sides will take on each other in the finals while the two losing teams will meet for the third-place match.
Organised by the Football Association of Thailand (FAT), the matches will be held at the 700th Anniversary of Chiang Mai Stadium.
In their last four friendly matches, Malaysia have won against the Philippines, Brunei, and Hong Kong, losing to only Singapore 2-1 during the Tri-Nations Series in March. – The Vibes, August 11, 2022
