KUALA LUMPUR, April 30 (Bernama) — The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has made early plans, to help Harimau Malaya make history by advancing to the third round of the World Cup Qualifiers for the first time.
Its president, Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin believes that the squad managed by Kim Pan Gon has the chance to advance as the 18 best teams in Asia, if they succeed in beating Kyrgyzstan and Taiwan in the last two matches of the second round, in June.
Malaysia, currently third in Group D after four matches so far, will face Kyrgyzstan in Bishkek on June 6, followed by a game against Taiwan at Bukit Jalil National Stadium on June 11.
Among FAM’s initial preparations is a special chartered flight to Bishkek through its sponsor, Malaysia Airlines Berhad (Malaysia Airlines).
“This chartered flight was at Pan Gon’s request to avoid transit getting there, and arrive in Malaysia the next day to prepare for the action against Taiwan. This is indeed a FAM effort, which we have done before.
“We also have held discussions with the MFL (Malaysian Football League) and the national squad coaches, where they agreed on the dates of the league and national squad training camp,” he told reporters.
According to the Malaysia League schedule released by MFL, the last match of the Super League is May 26 before resuming on June 13, which is earlier than the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) calendar from June 3-11.
Hamidin said the preparation of the national squad at the moment is not the same as in the past, because it is necessary to adhere to the FIFA calendar.
Based on the standings after the four games of the second round of qualifiers, Kyrgyzstan leads Group D based on goal advantage despite sharing nine points with Oman, followed by Malaysia (6 points) and Taiwan in the bottom position without any points.
Malaysia started the qualifying campaign with a 4-3 win over Kyrgyzstan in Bukit Jalil and 1-0 over Taiwan in Taipei in November last year, but lost 0-2 to Oman, respectively in Muscat on March 21 and Bukit Jalil on March 26.
— BERNAMA
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Tags: FAM EARLY PREPARATIONS MATCHES KYRGYZSTAN TAIWAN
