PETALING JAYA: National Under-23 football team head coach Nafuzi Zain is wary ahead of the team's crucial group clash against hosts Indonesia in the AFF U-23 Championship on Sunday (July 20).
In a must-win game for Malaysia to stand a chance of getting to the semi-finals, Nafuzi is wary of Indonesia's quality players as the hosts sit top of Group A with two wins.
"Based on how Indonesia played their two group matches, it's clear they are a very good team," said Nafuzi.
"Individually, the players possess great quality, especially when it comes to their speed and physical strength.
"We can see the way they play with speed in their game. Some of the players play in the Indonesia Liga 1 and show high maturity," he said.
Indonesia thrashed Brunei 8-0 in their opening group match and followed this up with a 1-0 win over the Philippines.
Malaysia are currently in third place with three points, after a 7-1 win against Brunei on Friday and a 0-2 loss in their opening match against the Philippines, who are second in the group, level on points with Malaysia.
Nafuzi added that the team are injury-free, with wingers Aliff Izwan Yuslan and Faris Danish ready after being rested for the match against Brunei.
"So far, everything has been going well. The team is positive and the injured players are also back in training.
"Hopefully, we can field them for the big match against Indonesia," he said.
The Harimau Muda will be facing a tough challenge at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium and Nafuzi said the team is likely to be similar to the squad that faced Brunei.
