KUNSHAN: The AFC Under-23 Championship quarter-final match at Kunshan Stadium on Saturday will pit two of the competition’s hottest strikers in Malaysia’s Safawi Rasid and South Korea’s Lee Keun Ho.
Safawi, who plays for Johor Darul Ta’zim, has scored two times while Keun Ho is the competition’s joint-leading scorer with Qatar’s Al Moez Ali with three goals each.
The Malaysian scored in the 4-1 defeat to Iraq and the 1-1 draw with Jordan in the group stage.
The 20-year-old Safawi said he is determined to play a major role for Malaysia on Saturday.
"It would be a dream to score against Korea, but my focus is on winning the match. It does not matter whether I score as long we can create an upset,” said Safawi.
“Korea are the favourites while we are the underdogs. But the 1-0 win over Saudi Arabia in our final Group C match has given us the confidence that we can match the best teams in the competition.
“We will do our best to create an upset. There are no favourites in the knockout stage.”
Safawi, who is among the players with senior international caps in the team, is expected to partner Akhyar Rashid and Jafri Firdaus Chew in attack on Saturday.
Korean Keun Ho said: “We are focused and ready for tomorrow.”
“It will not be an easy match, but we are confident. Our goal is to win the tournament,” the Korean said.
Translated from Harian Metro