PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s football team coach Kim Pan-gon is not one who will hide behind the team’s defeat.
And yesterday, the South Korean was honest about his own shortcomings and admitted that he was blindsided by Oman’s clever tactics that saw Malaysia losing 0-2 in the World Cup 2026-Asian Cup 2027 second-round qualifier in Muscat last Thursday.
But he sees clearly now where they had failed and has vowed his side will give a better performance in the return fixture at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil today.
Pan-gon said Oman’s new coach Jaroslav Silhavy had changed the game style and tactics in their previous match.
“He used a different formation, one that caught me off-guard. Even with their playing style, I thought they would make runs from the back and be aggressive, but they were not like that. They were different. We were blindsided,” said Pan-gon.
“We conceded goals. We made mistakes and we know why it happened... we lacked match fitness but we’ve learned from these errors.
“Our players are professionals and we hope to fix the problems we had in the previous game.”
Pan-gon is excited about playing in front of the home crowd.
“We will not hold back at the National Stadium. My players have the passion to reach the third round.
“We expect the fans to push us with their support. We want to fight together and give our best performance for everyone.
“I cannot guarantee the result but we will give our best. We hope to dominate the match and show our Malaysian DNA, which is to control and fight. One point will be really good.”
As for the pitch condition, Pan-gon hopes the stadium operators will fulfil their promise by preparing a playable field.
Both Malaysia and Oman did not get to test the field ahead of today’s match. There had been concerns over the pitch conditions at the National Stadium as there was footage that had gone viral which showed that it was in poor condition.
“I’ve not seen the field in Bukit Jalil,” said Pan-gon.
“The stadium board technician told me two weeks ago that the field will be ready and I hope he will keep his promise. I’m waiting to see how it will be tomorrow (today).”
