KL's Declan Lambert (left) battles for the ball with JDT's Bergson during the Super League match at the Kuala Lumpur Football Stadium, March 1, 2023. — GLENN GUAN/The Star
PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian football team are already feeling the heat ahead of their World Cup 2026-Asian Cup 2027 second-round qualifier against Kyrgyzstan on June 6 where the game will take place under cold conditions in Bishkek.
Coach Kim Pan-gon and his men can’t be playing it cool due to the absence of several key attacking players like Faisal Halim, Darren Lok, Arif Aiman Hanapi and Syafiq Ahmad due to injuries.
Furthermore, Kyrgyzstan will enter the game as clear favourites being ranked higher (100th) than the Harimau Malaya (138th) and are expected to thrive on the chilly climate at home.
Wingback Declan Lambert (pic)knows the score when it comes to the challenging situation ahead but he has told his teammates to draw on one thing in their favour – the underdogs’ tag.
“The home team are facing higher expectations and perhaps we can take advantage of that. With our key attacking players out injured, we have a mountain to climb to get a win but we must try to accomplish it,’’ said Lambert.
‘‘We must make every chance that comes our way count, and not worry too much about the conditions we’re playing under.’’
