KUALA LUMPUR: Head coach Kim Pan Gon is disappointed with Saudi Arabia for calling off their friendly against the national football team as it now leaves the Harimau Malaya with probably just one warm-up match heading into the 2023 Asian Cup Finals in Doha, Qatar from Jan 12-Feb 10.
Pan Gon said playing one friendly against Syria on Jan 8 before beginning their Asian Cup campaign is insufficient to prepare his men for the tough assignment awaiting them in Doha.
“Of course, it’s (one friendly) not enough, it was an ‘accident’, I’m very disappointed… anyhow, we will overcome this situation.
“We are now looking for (other) available opponents,” he said when met during the national team’s training session at Wisma FAM (Football Association of Malaysia) in Kelana Jaya yesterday, though he admitted that they have very limited options in terms of available teams.
FAM had previously confirmed that the Jan 4 friendly against Saudi Arabia had been cancelled at the request of their new head coach, Roberto Mancini, as the Italian felt that his team might face Malaysia in the last 16 of the 2023 Asian Cup.
Meanwhile, FAM president Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin has assured that he will help arrange one more friendly, at least against a club side, in Doha.
“The team will leave on Jan 1 and, if possible, on Jan 4 we will arrange a friendly against a club side,” he said when met at the celebration held in conjunction with the FAM president’s birthday and the team competing in the 2023 Asian Cup Finals and 2026 World Cup/2027 Asian Cup Qualifiers yesterday.
Two friendly matches before the Asian Cup Finals begin is an ideal number for the Harimau Malaya, who are set to face a torrid time in Group E with Jordan, Bahrain and two-time champions South Korea.
Pan Gon aims to help Harimau Malaya make history by advancing into the last 16 in Doha. – Bernama