DOHA: Winless Malaysia have only pride left to play for against Kuwait tomorrow, which is to avoid last place in Group D of football's Under-23 Asian Cup in Doha.
Already eliminated from the tournament after identical 2-0 losses to Uzbekistan and Vietnam last week, the Young Tigers have still yet to get a point or even score a goal.
Winless Kuwait (who lost 3-1 to Vietnam and 5-0 to Uzbekistan) may be in the same boat as Malaysia but they look capable of throwing Malaysia overboard into the Persian Gulf.
Kuwaiti football cannot be underestimated. After all, they qualified for the World Cup Finals three times — 1980, 1992, 2000. That is something Malaysia can only dream of.
Former national under-19 coach, Hassan Sazali Waras, said the Malaysian team need to improve on their decision-making on the field and have greater composure under pressure if they are to match Kuwait.
Pundit Datuk Richard Scully said the Malaysian team are playing for the country's pride and must not come back empty-handed, but with at least a point.
However, Kuwait coach Emilio Peixe claimed that unlike Malaysia, the Arab nation's domestic league has only 15 teams and not enough talents for him to choose from.
It seems so, judging from Kuwait's earlier struggles in their group matches.
The Malaysian lads will be playing at Al Janoub Stadium against Kuwait, the place where the Malaysian senior team drew 3-3 with Son Heung Min and South Korea in a memorable Asian Cup match in January. How is that for inspiration?