KUALA LUMPUR: Despite being South Korean, Kim Pan Gon takes immense pride in his role as the Harimau Malaya coach. The 54-year-old coach proudly sang "Negaraku" before the friendly match against China at Phoenix Hill Stadium in Chengdu on Saturday.
The proud moment for the South Korean coach came when Malaysia held their world No. 80 opponents to a 1-1 draw.
Faisal Halim scored for Malaysia in the 11th minute, while Lin Liangming replied for China in the 36th minute.
It was world No. 136 Malaysia's second draw in Chengdu following the 2-2 result against 94th-ranked Syria on Wednesday.
Pan Gon now harbours hopes that his team will one day break into the top 100 in the Fifa world rankings.
"There is tremendous potential within the squad, but the national players sometimes doubt their abilities. Therefore, I am addressing various weaknesses and transforming them into a fearless and proactive unit capable of dominating matches," he said after the match.
"We are dedicated to making our fans proud, and we believe we are on the right track. Our goal is to climb up the rankings to the top 120 and, ultimately, into the top 100."
When questioned by the Chinese media about the presence of naturalised and heritage players in his squad, Pan Gon said: "We have many heritage players, but we don't consider them foreigners.
"They are committed to representing the national team. Whether my players are local, heritage, or naturalised, they are all united and share the common goal of helping Harimau Malaya achieve better results."
The squad also comprise naturalised players Paulo Josue, Endrick Dos Santos, and Sergio Aguero as well as heritage players Matthew Davies, Dominic Tan, Darren Lok, Brendan Gan, Dion Cools, La'Vere Corbin-Ong, Daniel Ting, Stuart Wilkin, and Junior Eldstal.
Faisal Halim, Syihan Hazmi, Akhyar Rashid, Kalamullah Al-Hafiz Mat Rowi, Arif Aiman Hanapi, Safawi Rasid, Nur Shamie Iszuan, Sharul Nazeem Zulpakar, Azam Azih, and Azri Ghani are the local talents in the team.