THE AFF Cup could not have come at the worst possible time for national coach Tan Cheng Hoe, at the end of a hectic domestic season amid a pandemic.
The oft-postponed AFF Cup, to be held in Singapore as a carnival tournament just as the first edition in the city-state was in 1996, is struggling to remain relevant in an international calendar where other commitments take importance.
Vietnam are competing against Asia's best in the final group stage of World Cup qualifying while the other major Southeast Asian nations will be playing in the Asian Cup qualifiers for the 2023 edition in China.
Where does this leave the AFF Cup, which the Asean Football Federation were fortunate to squeeze into the calendar this December only because the Vietnam Sea Games were postponed to May next year?
This has left Cheng Hoe with a major headache, not least because his squad selection has come in for heavy criticism, with the FA of Malaysia (FAM) not helping matters by placing a questionable target of reaching the final.
What is the point of Malaysia playing in this AFF Cup? What does FAM or Cheng Hoe hope to gain?
From their public pronouncements, it is not clear if they want to win it or treat it as a preparatory ground for the Asian Cup qualifiers.
It has to be one or the other, not both. You must be clear in your objectives, not muddle your way through.
Cheng Hoe's selection alone sends mixed messages.
If it is the former, they should say so. If FAM want to win it, then it stands to reason they need to bring in Johor Darul Ta'zim's first XI, minus the ineligible foreigners.
Merely selecting their bench players — two of whom were not even selected for JDT's Malaysia Cup final match day squad — is not going to cut it.
If it's about exposing the players to international matches, they should say so too.
Then players like Mukhairi Ajmal Mahadi, Kogileswaran Raj, Faisal Halim and Quentin Cheng should see more action on the pitch than off it.
Cheng Hoe's final squad of 24 include 13 players who will be going to the AFF Cup for the first time while goalkeeper Khairul Fahmi Che Mat — the only survivor from the 2010 AFF Cup-winning squad — makes his sixth competition appearance, which is a Malaysian record for the tournament.
It looks like Cheng Hoe is attempting to kill two birds with one stone, exposing certain players to international competition while having a squad that he hopes will at least reach the semi-finals.
If the latter is the case, then Malaysia must not drop points in the opening two games against Cambodia and Laos with the final group match against Indonesia taking the greatest importance.
The fixture against Vietnam, in this context, is not important.
It matters little if Malaysia finish first or second in the group.
Thailand are expected to top the other group and if Malaysia can't beat Thailand, whom they have beaten in their last two meetings, then it stands to reason they don't deserve a place in the final in any case.
If they get through that, then a rematch against Vietnam in the final is expected.
This is the fixture that matters where Cheng Hoe's side must end their seven-year winless run against the Vietnamese.
As for the timing of the tournament, with the opening match scheduled less than a week after the Malaysia Cup final, Cheng Hoe is already paying a heavy price.
Injuries have claimed Malaysia Cup champions Kuala Lumpur's Akram Mahinan and Kenny Pallraj, leaving the national team's midfield decidedly lightweight.
Five of JDT's final first XI — Farizal Marlias, S. Kunanlan, Matthew Davies, Afiq Fazail and Natxo Insa — have not been selected nor have La-Vere Corbin Ong, Mohamadou Sumareh nor Nazmi Faiz Mansor.
It is a brave new world that Cheng Hoe is facing — if Malaysia fail to reach their targets, whatever that is, then he will be under pressure going into the Asian Cup qualifiers.
Conversely, if Malaysia do well at the AFF Cup, then he will have a pleasant selection headache for next year.