As far as Azfar’s concerned, we shouldn’t fear young Garudas

Game for familiar foes: Nor Azfar Fikri Azhar (right) with Luqman Hakim Shamsuddin.

PETALING JAYA: Have no fear!

National Under-23 midfielder Nor Azfar Fikri Azhar has urged his teammates to be fearless when they face their No. 1 enemy Indonesia in the AFF Under-23 championship starting on Feb 15 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

The Young Garudas will be powered by several AFF Suzuki Cup players like defender Alfeandra Dewangga, wingback Pratama Arhan, midfielder Rachmat Irianto and winger Ramai Rumakiek, who were in the team that beat the Malaysian senior team 4-1 in Singapore last year.

The Indonesian youngsters showed that they were up for the senior level by going all the way to the final, only to be defeated 2-6 by Thailand on aggregate in a two-leg contest.

Azfar does not want his team to feel inferior to the Indonesians.

“Some of the boys are from the senior team but I believe we are equal,” said Azfar who turned 22 on Feb 5.

“We’ve to go all out and play without fear. Instead, we have to be motivated to try and beat this strong team.”

They will face the Indonesians led by South Korean coach Shin Tae-yong in the final Group B game at the Morodok Techo National Stadium on Feb 21.

Besides Indonesia, the others in their group are Myanmar and Laos. They play Myanmar at the Prince Stadium on Feb 15 and Laos at the same venue on Feb 18.

The three group winners and the best second-placed team will advance to the semi-finals.

Azfar did well at the AFC Under-23 Asian Cup qualifiers in Mongolia last year when he emerged as the top scorer with two goals and helped the team qualify for the Asian Cup in Uzbekistan in June.

In their first friendly this year, Azfar captained the team in their 1-1 draw against Super League team Sabah on Saturday.

Under his leadership, Malaysia are hoping to go far in Cambodia.