KUNSHAN, China: Young forward Akhyar Abdul Rashid’s impressive performance in the first two matches has caught the attention of Saudi Arabia leading up to their final group C match of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Under-23 Championship that will be played at the Kunshan Stadium in China tomorrow.
Even though Akhyar, 18, is said to be nursing an injury and remains doubtful for the match, 2013 runners-up Saudi Arabia are not taking any chances and remain wary of the young forward.
The Saudis assistant coach, Saleh Al Mohamdi, admitted that the Kedah forward is a dangerous threat along with Malaysia’s top scorer Safawi Rasid, and they will be marking both players if they are fielded in the deciding match which could determine which of the two teams advances to the quarter-finals.
"He (Akhyar) is a very good player and the Malaysian team have also shown that they are tactically sound. Apart from Akhyar, their number six (Safawi) and number 17 (Irfan Zakaria) are the key players which drive the team and make them tick.
“So we have carried out the necessary preparations because tomorrow’s match is an important and at the same time difficult one for us. Both Malaysia and us need to win the match to advance to the next stage of the championship, and we are ready to make it happen,” he said after the Saudis training session here earlier today.
The Saudis are desperate to win the match and advance to the quarter-finals after being held to draws against Jordan (2-2) and Iraq (0-0) in their first two matches.
On paper, Saudi Arabia are the superior team as 10 of their players have experience playing for their national senior squad.
Saleh said that their players are fired up to prove that they have what it takes to help secure quarter-final berth, and they are all eager to put up their best performance in the hope of making the final squad that will go to the World Cup in Russia later this year.
"This will be the first time playing Malaysia, but from what we’ve seen from their first two matches, we know that we’ll be going up against a good side that will fight to the very end, but we are ready for them," said Saleh.