THE HAGUE: World No. 4 England are in no mood for charity as they chase full points against Malaysia in their third Group A match of the World Cup at the Kyocera Stadium on Thursday.
The Englishmen have labelled Malaysia as “rank outsiders with the ability to spring a surprise or two”.
England coach Bobby Crutchley says that the danger lies in Malaysia’s counter attacks, which he described as “fast and accurate”.
“So, there is no way we will under-estimate them although they come into the match with two defeats,” he said.
“Malaysia have always been a tough team to play against and they have good counter attacking moves. We played against them in the World League semi-finals and we know they are a good side.
“They do have skilful players who are young and, with each match, will surely gain more experience. So, we will be wary of them.”
England began the group phase with a 1-1 draw against Spain before edging India 2-1 – with the winner coming just two minutes before time.
England will be hoping that Ashley Jackson, who was injured in the game against India, would be able to recover in time for the match against Malaysia.
“Ashley is suffering from a sore shoulder but, with two days’ rest, he should be okay for the Malaysia game,” said Crutchley.
“We also need to step up our defensive play and that all the teams in the group still have three matches to get their acts right.”
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