KUALA LUMPUR: The friendly international match against Taiwan at the Taipei Municipal Stadium in Taipei tomorrow (Friday) will be a ‘double-edged sword’ mission for Harimau Malaya coach Tan Cheng Hoe.
This is because the match will not only be part of preparations for the AFF Cup at the end of the year, but also to improve on the national side’s Fifa world ranking.
Whatever it is, it will not be an easy task for Cheng Hoe when they face Taiwan who are ranked 125th, 46 places ahead of Malaysia.
Therefore, Cheng Hoe has demanded that his charges do no take their opponents lightly, and instead look to the match as more than just an international friendly.
“We know that Taiwan are formidable opponents who take their football seriously. And they will be playing at home, so they will have homeground advantage as well as the support from their fans who will pack the stadium.
“The Taiwanese also have really good players in their ranks apart from also calling upon naturalised players to bolster their squad.
“What I can tell you is we will take to the field and do our best to win as well as to improve on our Fifa world ranking,” stressed Cheng Hoe earlier today (Thursday).
After facing Taiwan, the national squad will then head to Phnom Penh for another international friendly against Cambodia on Monday.
Cheng Hoe has a headache upfront for the two upcoming friendly matches as he has to make do without the services of veteran Pahang forward Norshahrul Idlan Talaha due to family matters, leaving him with only Zaquan Adha Abd Radzak, Shahrel Fikri Fauzi and R. Kogileswaran to spearhead the attack.
Malaysia will also play another three international friendlies against Sri Lanka and Kyrgyzstan on October 12 and 16 respectively, before they take on Maldives at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on November 3.