Football

Harimau can still walk tall

BANGKOK: This Malaysian team started the tournament without much expectation, but they exited the AFF Cup with their heads held high.

For despite the absences of several top national players, despite not being at full strength, Malaysia still battled their way to the last four of the Asean event.

Coach Kim Pan Gon had to manage without the key players who featured in the qualifying tournament and steered Malaysia to the Asian Cup next year.

In the AFF Cup, Malaysia remarkably took the shine off defending champions Thailand by winning 1-0 in the semi-final first leg at Bukit Jalil before falling 3-0 in the second leg in Bangkok on Tuesday.

The team may be short on experience and quality, but yet they chalked up three wins and one loss in the group stage, scoring 10 goals and conceding four goals. Their only defeat was 3-0 to Vietnam in Hanoi.

Amid the semi-final exit, the team gave their everything but we have to accept that Vietnam and Thailand were a class above.

The main issue here seems to be the players' fitness. Having opted for a high-intensity pressing game, they struggled to maintain the tempo.

In comparison, Thai League 1 had 30 matches last season while the M-League had 22 matches, and this made a difference when the players turned out for their national teams.

Youngsters V. Ruventhiran, Sharul Nazeem Zulpakar, Azam Azmi Murad and Haqimi Azmi Rosli passed the AFF audition with commendable performances.

For naturalised players Lee Tuck and Sergio Aguero, the AFF Cup was an opportunity for them to gain valuable playing time with their new national team before the more important Asian Cup.

Pan Gon apologised for the national team's loss and said he took full responsibility for it.

"I have zero complaints and regrets. The players followed my instructions, they fought until the end," he said.

"The tactics, team line-up and strategy were by me, not the players. Any decision is my decision, you can blame me and you can attack me but not the players."

Malaysia's positive run in the AFF Cup will also send a message that those who played in the tournament could earn a national call-up again.

However, Pan Gon indicated that some of the players might not be recalled.

"They came to help the team after some players could not join the team because the matches were outside the Fifa calendar. They have given their everything, but we have to evaluate the team's performance," said Pan Gon.

"Maybe some of the players will continue with us and some players' journey might end."

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