PETALING JAYA: Head coach Juan Torres Garrido is not fazed by his national Under-23 team’s back-to-back defeats ahead of their AFC Asian Cup campaign.
The team went down narrowly 0-1 to hosts Qatar in their final closed friendly match in Doha on Sunday – just a week away from the tournament’s kickoff on April 15 at the same venue.
Qatar’s Ahmad Al-Rawi gave the home team their sole goal through a penalty in the stoppage time of the first half.
The loss comes after a 1-2 defeat to China in a friendly fixture on Thursday in Doha, making it two losses in their previous four friendly matches.
Two friendlies last month against India saw Malaysia win the first match 2-1 on March 23, followed by a 1-1 draw in the second meeting on March 26.
Garrido said the last two matches had been a good test for the youngsters, especially the fixture against Qatar.
“The match had given us an idea on what to expect when we compete in the tournament proper. It was a high-paced game against a very good opponent,” said Garrido.
“We still have about a week to finish the team’s preparation. Overall, we know quite clearly what needs to be improved in the team, and we also recognise our strengths.
“It’s good to have some extra time to work on these things before the competition starts,” he said.
Drawn into Group D, Malaysia will play Uzbekistan on April 17, followed by Vietnam (April 20), and Kuwait (April 23).
The Harimau Muda will be vying hard to make it to the final eight of the competition, and a top-three finish will see them earn a ticket to the Paris Olympics.
Meanwhile, centreback Ubaidullah Samsul Fazili said the squad had been improving both individually and as a team, despite recent scorelines being less than favourable.
“We must be able to adapt to any type of game we face. We only had one win in the past four games which is less than ideal,” said Ubaidullah.
“But our gameplay and team chemistry has been on the rise, friendlies like these is something that is good for us to prepare for the Asian Cup.
“The compatibility between the players cannot be denied, we are in sync with each other. We just need to reduce mistakes on the pitch,” added Ubaidullah.
