AFF CUP: Malaysian Footballers Aim To Do Their Best Against Singapore

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 3 (Bernama) -- Malaysian football squad captain Mohamad Faisal Abdul Halim has declared that the Harimau Malaya squad intends to do whatever it takes to emerge victorious in their ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Cup Group B decider against Singapore on Tuesday night. He said the national squad was very motivated to win the Causeway Derby at National Stadium, Bukit Jalil here after putting the defeat against Vietnam in Hanoi last week behind them. “We were all very down when we came back from Vietnam, and the coaches saw that, but we managed to re-energise ourselves two days later. “I would like to tell my fellow teammates that tomorrow is an important match on our own turf and we cannot lose (as) our families and fans are watching, we shouldn’t make it easy for our opponents to just win it here,” he said at a pre-match media conference here Monday. The new Selangor FC player said the team was still wondering how Singapore managed a goalless draw against Vietnam last Friday when they themselves fell 3-0 to the Golden Star Warriors. Mohamad Faisal said the draw did pile pressure on Malaysia, but he was optimistic that they had a chance to win if they remained disciplined and carried out their coaches’ instructions. He also cited Malaysia’s match against Turkmenistan in the 2023 Asian Cup qualifiers as an example of how their fighting spirit and discipline fueled the team to a cosy 3-1 victory. “We have beaten Turkmenistan and qualified for the Asian Cup, so tomorrow we’ll beat Singapore and we’ll go all out and qualify for the semifinals. We want our fans to be happy and it will be a great new year’s present to them,” the 24-year-old said. Four-time champions Singapore need only a draw to qualify for the semifinals, as they are currently second with a one-point advantage over Malaysia, who have six points. Singapore won 2-1 the last time the two teams met during a friendly in March last year, which was the first defeat the team had under head coach Kim Pan Gon. Meanwhile, Singapore will not play defensive football in its 2022 ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Cup Group B decider against Malaysia said its head coach Takayuki Nishigaya According to the Japanese coach, The Lions, who only need a draw to qualify for the semi-finals at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil here Tuesday night, will continue to play aggressively in an effort to achieve a positive result. Instructions have been given to the players to stick to the team's normal approach by defending as a team and attacking when they have the opportunity, he added. “Of course, we have the advantage in knowing a point is enough and that Malaysia need to win but that won’t change the way we play. “We have much respect for the opposition but we want to attack as much as possible and whilst we expect Malaysia to be aggressive we also want to do the same,” he said during a press conference on Monday. Singapore midfielder Anumanthan Kumar is excited ahead of the Causeway Derby. “We’re all excited, we’re ready and we know this will be a big game. Many of us have played in these matches before, so that will help with the crowd management and we’re excited because we grew up watching these matches. “More important than all that, we have a clear objective to get the three points and qualify,” the 28-year-old player said. The last time the two teams met in an international friendly was last March, which ended in a 2-1 win for Singapore at home, thus handed South Korean Kim Pan Gon's first defeat as Malaysia's head coach. After Singapore's goalless draw against Vietnam last Friday, Malaysia has no choice but to record a win on Wednesday to qualify for the semi-finals to avoid an early exit for the second consecutive edition. Singapore, the four-time champion now has a one-point advantage in second place while Malaysia is third with six points. The last time Malaysia beat Singapore was in a Group B action of the 2014 AFF Cup which witnessed two epic late goals - Safiq Rahim's penalty and Indra Putra Mahayuddin's long-range finish helped the team win 3-1 at the Singapore National Stadium and advance to the semis. -- BERNAMA