KUALA LUMPUR: Timor Leste did not have a football pitch and had to train at the beach.
And as a result, the Crocodiles lost their bite and were hammered 0-11 by Thailand in the first Group A fixture in the AFF Cup at the Hang Day Stadium in Vietnam on Sunday.
And they can expect another thrashing when they face hosts Malaysia at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil today.
Malaysia are eager to bounce back at home after their 2-2 draw against Cambodia in Phnom Penh on Sunday and they will be going all out to pile on the goals.
Timor Leste’s coach Simon Elissetche (pic) was frank about his team’s assessment, saying that they were one of the worst teams in the region but were participating in the tournament to build a team for the future.
In fact, they did not even have a field for training before the competition.
“We competed without proper preparation. We don’t have a pitch for training. We had to train on the beach,” said Elissetche.
“Our players from the overseas only joined the team two days before flying to Vietnam.
“One of our best players (Gali Freitas) who is playing in the Indonesia League was not released.
“We are the worst team in the Asean competition. We are here to learn, grow and improve.”
The Chilean said they were building a team for the future.
“We have talented players who want to showcase their potential. This is the opportunity and platform for them to improve,” he said.
“We did well in the last international friendly against Mongolia and also Brunei in the AFF Cup qualifiers.
“We have started the AFF badly, but there is always a way to come back. We want to boost our morale and return to our competitive selves. We hope to play better than the match against Thailand.
“If we can get a draw, it would be a good result for us. We want to be competitive. If we lose, but show better performance than the last game, it will be good for us too.”
Timor Leste have not won any game in the AFF Cup.
