SEPANG: National football coach Tan Cheng Hoe is not fretting over Indonesia’s four naturalised players in their 2022 World Cup second round qualifying match at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium tomorrow.
The Garudas are expected to unleash four naturalised players – defender Victor Igbonefo, winger Stefano Lilipaly and strikers Beto Goncalves and Osas Saha – in the Group G opener which also doubles as the qualifier for the 2023 Asia Cup.
Cheng Hoe said that the Malaysian players should have no problems because they are used to playing against foreign players in the M-League.
The former international added that his men are more concerned about their own performance rather than that of their opponents’.
“We will have our plans for the match and our players’ task is to execute it to perfection. We know what Indonesia are capable of and our game plan is to get a positive result from the match,” said Cheng Hoe.
“We are aware of their naturalised players. Our players have played against foreign players who are physically stronger too in the M-League, so I don’t see it as a problem and at the same time we also need to keep an eye on their locals too.”
Cheng Hoe said his biggest worry is the tendency of the team to be unsettled in the early part of matches.
The Harimau Malaya’s record of only one clean sheet in their last six matches is also a factor bugging Cheng Hoe.
He added that the friendly against Jordan which ended with a 0-1 loss last week, gave him an idea on what can be done to improve the team’s backline.
“The first match is always the toughest and on top of that, there’s the intense rivalry against Indonesia,” he said.
“Our second-half display against Jordan is proof that the team can perform well when the players put their minds to the task at hand. I see the players working hard in training as everyone wants a place in the starting line-up which is a positive sign.”
The Garudas are expected to unleash four naturalised players – defender Victor Igbonefo, winger Stefano Lilipaly and strikers Beto Goncalves and Osas Saha – in the Group G opener which also doubles as the qualifier for the 2023 Asia Cup.
Cheng Hoe said that the Malaysian players should have no problems because they are used to playing against foreign players in the M-League.
The former international added that his men are more concerned about their own performance rather than that of their opponents’.
“We will have our plans for the match and our players’ task is to execute it to perfection. We know what Indonesia are capable of and our game plan is to get a positive result from the match,” said Cheng Hoe.
“We are aware of their naturalised players. Our players have played against foreign players who are physically stronger too in the M-League, so I don’t see it as a problem and at the same time we also need to keep an eye on their locals too.”
Cheng Hoe said his biggest worry is the tendency of the team to be unsettled in the early part of matches.
The Harimau Malaya’s record of only one clean sheet in their last six matches is also a factor bugging Cheng Hoe.
He added that the friendly against Jordan which ended with a 0-1 loss last week, gave him an idea on what can be done to improve the team’s backline.
“The first match is always the toughest and on top of that, there’s the intense rivalry against Indonesia,” he said.
“Our second-half display against Jordan is proof that the team can perform well when the players put their minds to the task at hand. I see the players working hard in training as everyone wants a place in the starting line-up which is a positive sign.”
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