THE AFF Under-19 Championship, which starts on Wednesday in Indonesia, will be a test of character and guts for Malaysia, who aim to qualify for the semi-finals.
Bojan Hodak’s side are in Group B and they will open their campaign against Cambodia (Wednesday), followed by Brunei (Friday), Timor Leste (Sunday) and Myanmar (July 10).
The lack of preparation time could derail Malaysia’s hopes of achieving their target as most of Hodak’s regulars only reported for training two days before the team left for Indonesia due to club commitments in the M-League, Youth Cup and President’s Cup.
“It will be a tough tournament for us as some of my M-League players do not get regular playing time. I only had my full squad for two days in training.
“Frankly, I am slightly worried about fitness and tactical understanding.
“However, we have quality players who could decide outcomes of matches and hopefully, they will play to their abilities.
“I do not have four regulars from last year. Two are injured while the others have not been playing well.
“I am not in under any pressure because I am using this tournament to test combinations and tactics for the AFC Under-19 tournament (on Oct 18-Nov 4), which is our main target this year,” said Hodak when contacted in Indonesia.
Hodak said on paper, Myanmar are the group favourites but Cambodia and Timor Leste could upset the form book as they have made changes to their respective squads.
“Players from Cambodia and Timor Leste look bigger and stronger compared to last year but I do not want to speculate anything,” said the 47-year-old.
On the opening match against Cambodia on Wednesday, Hodak said they will be tricky as the team have been playing in their country’s second division competition.
“They have been together as a unit for the last two years. There are 15 new faces in their team,” he added.
In last year’s competition in Myanmar, Hodak’s side reached the final before losing 2-0 to Thailand.
They made the cut for this year’s AFC Under-19 tournament by finishing second behind hosts South Korea in the qualifiers in Paju.