THE Young Tigers may have arrived only four days ago in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, for the AFC Under-23 qualifiers, but coach Brad Maloney believes this factor will not affect their momentum in today's opening Group J match against Laos.
Laos arrived in Ulaanbaatar on Oct 13 to acclimatise to the cold weather and the MFF Football Centre's artificial pitch.
However, Maloney said despite his team's late arrival, they have acclimatised to the conditions and are ready for their opening game.
The Australian, however, reminded his charges to be wary as the same Laotian team had done well in the 2019 AFF Under-18 Championship and the 2020 AFC Under-19 Championship.
In the AFC Under-19 qualifiers, Laos held mighty Australia to a 2-2 draw in a group match.
Maloney said today's match at MFF Football Centre will be tough.
Malaysia edged Laos 1-0 in their last meeting at the 2019 AFC Under-23 qualifiers.
"I expect my team to be competitive in the qualifiers. Laos are a disciplined bunch, and we expect them to be a tough nut to crack," said Maloney when contacted in Ulaanbaatar yesterday.
"Laos, I believe, are taking this tournament very seriously. They were here before us. However, I am not too worried about it.
"My players are professionals, and I believe they will adapt to the conditions here."
Malaysia's other Group J opponents are hosts Mongolia and Thailand, who arrived in Ulaanbaatar a week ago.
On the match today, Maloney reminded his players to keep things simple and dictate the pace of the game.
"We just have to focus on our game plan and keep things simple. We do not want to dwell into things that we cannot control," he added.
After Laos, Malaysia will take on Mongolia on Oct 28, followed by Thailand on Oct 31.
The 11 group winners and the four best runners-up will qualify for the tournament proper in Uzbekistan next year.