PETALING JAYA: Beware Malaysia as India are out for a revenge in an international football friendly game.
But Harimau Malaya’s captain Dion Cools says they will not be intimidated at all.
India are set to roar with strong home support when they take on Malaysia in the friendly game at Gachibowli Stadium in Hyderabad today. India are still wounded after losing 2-4 to Malaysia in the Merdeka Tournament in September.
Cools said they would rise up in the presence of tens of thousands of home supporters.
“Every player definitely wants to perform in front of these fans. I don’t think it will be a problem for the players if the fans are many. In fact, we want to do well in front of them,” said Cools.
“What is important is to play a good game tomorrow (today) because a win can improve the ranking position in the world.”
Malaysia, ranked 133rd in the world, are chasing their second win in a week after beating Laos 3-1 in Bangkok last Thursday.
Cools is also looking to score against 125th ranked India.
“Of course I’ll be happy if I can score a goal for the team. However, it doesn’t really matter who scores a goal because the important thing is for Malaysia to win,” he said.
Pau Marti Vicente’s side is also missing three key players – defenders Matthew Davies and Feroz Baharudin as well as forward Arif Aiman Hanapi.
Vicente has brought only 23 players to Hyderabad, allowing the trio to return to their club Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT).
In Arif’s position, Vicente may turn to Safawi Rasid or Haqimi Azim Rosli on the right flank, while Azam Azmi Murad is expected to replace Davies in defence.
The coach can also call on Zhafri Yahya, Fergus Tierney and Fazrul Amir Zaman, who featured in Malaysia’s 3-1 friendly win over Laos.
India captain Gurpreet Singh Sandhu said they would go all out to snap a 12-month winless run today.
India have not won a match since their 1-0 victory over Kuwait in a World Cup qualifier last November.
“Malaysia play good football, so it will be a tough match for us,” said Gurpreet.
“But we are looking forward to this match and want to make up for our last defeat in Malaysia two months ago,” he said.
Malaysia-India rivalry goes back to 1957. Both teams have clashed 32 times. Malaysia and India have won 12 matches each while eight have ended in draws.
