We'll make amends: Coach Brad Maloney consoling his players after the bronze-medal playoff loss to Indonesia at the Hanoi SEA Games. -Bernama
PETALING JAYA: The Harimau Muda have a mountain to climb as they attempt to make a roaring start in their AFC Under-23 Asian Cup campaign in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, today.
Brad Maloney’s charges have a high-scoring South Korean side to contain in their Group C opener.
The stats separating them are alarming. In the qualifiers, Malaysia finished top of their group but only scored two goals compared to the Koreans, who blasted in 14 to top their group.
Many tip South Korea, who are the holders, to retain the title they won in 2020.
Maloney needs no reminders about how lethal Malaysia’s opponents are but said his boys will go into the match without fear.
“South Korea are a world-class team,” he said at the press conference at the Lokomotiv Stadium yesterday.
“They’ve got players who played in the Olympics, the Under-23 Asian Cup qualifiers and also the Under-20 World Youth Cup, so we will approach the game with caution.
“As for the other teams in the group, they will be a challenge too. Vietnam and Thailand are also tough sides.
“But my players have never been afraid to play anyone, so we will approach this match in that manner.”
Many fans are hopeful that the current batch of youngsters can emulate their seniors in 2018.
Nik Akif Syahiran and Hadi Fayyadh Abdul Razak are the remaining players from the previous tournament who will see action in Uzbekistan.
Maloney is aware of the expectations and says his charges are motivated to improve on the quarter-final outing in 2018.
“We have not set a specific target but we’ll be competitive and go as far as we possibly can.”
Meanwhile, rightback Quentin Cheng said they are going to take each game as it comes.
“We came here early, got adjusted to the environment and now we will take it one game at a time.’’
