KUALA LUMPUR: Focusing too much on improving the national team's rankings over the past few seasons caused them to go into the AFC Asian Cup underprepared.
That is the view of respected coach Bojan Hodak when assessing Harimau Malaya's recent performance in Qatar.
Harimau Malaya entered the tournament ranked No 130 in the world, the highest it has reached in seven years.
A number of analysts and coaches, including Hodak, however, stated that the lack of quality opponents they faced in the lead up to the tournament deprived them of the experience they need at this level.
It was the first time Malaysia had qualified on merit for the Asian Cup in 43 years.
"The main problem is that Malaysia hardly played any matches against top teams over the last two years," said Bojan when contacted yesterday.
"They were focused on improving their Fifa ranking which is not a crucial thing at this moment.
"Without tough matches, the team cannot improve and because of that the team arrived (in Qatar) unprepared."
The national squad lost its opening game against Jordan 4-0 and then went down to Bahrain 1-0. They, however, managed to hold tournament favourites to a 3-3 draw in their final Group E match.
Bahrain (six points) unexpectedly went on to win the group with South Korea (five points) placing second. Jordan (four points) went through to the second round as one of four best third-placed teams in the competition.
Malaysia finished last in the group with a solitary point.t
"For me, the team's overall performance was below expectations," said Hodak.
"Their performances in the first two games were really poor. The choice of players and tactical decisions were really poor.
"For the game against Jordan, they employed the wrong tactics and wrong playing system. I am not sure if the coach (Kim Pan Gon) underestimated Jordan or if he overestimated his own team (abilities).
"They should have taken risks and gone for three points against Bahrain because that match was their best chance of doing so, it doesn't matter that they (Bahrain) went on to finish top of the group.
"They were only up to the (expected) level in the last match against South Korea and showed that Malaysia has good players who can fight with anybody in Asia.
"The reason why they were better against Korea was because the tactics and players selected were correct.
"It was the only match the players were played in the positions they are supposed to be in for every match.
"Against South Korea, Malaysia was still playing with focus, were in a good mood and were trying to challenge them.
"South Korea was not really 100 per cent in the game so they allowed a little bit of space, especially after they took the lead in the second half."
Harimau Malaya's next major assignment will be the second round (Asia) of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers which resumes in March.
The squad will face Oman on March 21 (away) and March 26 (home) followed by an away match against Kyrgyzstan (June 6) and Taiwan at home (June 11).
Hodak believes Malaysia can advance with a win against Oman.
"Malaysia have a chance (of beating) Oman at home because all teams from the Gulf have problems with the weather when they play away," said Hodak.
"This is because of the humidity in Southeast Asia.
"With three points against Oman at home, Malaysia can go on to secure qualification to the next round."
Malaysia currently sits top of Group D after winning both their matches so far. The squad defeated Kyrgyzstan 4-3 at home (Nov 16) and Taiwan 1-0 away (Nov 21).