Make your presence felt: Intan Sarah (standing) telling teammates to give their best at the women’s football competition. — Photo by FAM
PETALING JAYA: From futsal to football, creator to goalscorer, Intan Sarah Anisah Zulgafli looks forward to challenging herself in new roles at the Cambodia SEA Games.
The 24-year-old, who plays for Kelana United in the Selangor Women’s League but is known nationally as a futsal player, is looking forward to playing in her first big football tournament with Malaysia.
She revealed that coach Soleen Al-Zoubi sees her as a striker in the team a role given to her for the first time in football.
“This is the first time I am representing Malaysia in football and also as a striker for the first time. The pressure is not high but nervousness is there because it is my first time,” she said.
“Of course, we do not want to return with disappointment and people say we didn’t do our best. We will implement what coach Soleen has done and make the nation proud. If we win matches, it would be a bonus.”
Malaysia will kick off their SEA Games campaign by taking on Vietnam in their opening Group A match at the RCAF Old Stadium in Phnom Penh today.
The Vietnamese are one of the gold medal contenders in the Cambodia SEA Games and will also be featured in the World Cup in New Zealand in July.
Intan said the prospect is challenging but reminds her teammates to remember one key element.
“We should not give up. Against tougher teams, we have to maintain the mindset we have before the game; we must give our best.
“We have had some friendlies in Malaysia against local sides. Our team are quite new.
“Thers is a lot of good mixture of senior and young faces, so there’s no problem in terms of chemistry. We are good.”
When asked how many goals she wanted to score, Intan said, “We start with one first; if you get one, then go for a hattrick.
“But it depends on the coach. Our formation is quite open. I don’t know if I am in the first eleven yet. So it could be me or Henrietta Justine. But if given a chance to start. I will give my best.”
Apart from Malaysia and Vietnam, the other teams in Group A are Myanmar, the Philippines and Indonesia.
