KUALA LUMPUR — Often regarded as the whipping boys in football, Timor-Leste hopes to secure a positive result, at least a draw, against Malaysia in their second Asean Cup Group A match at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil tomorrow.
Currently ranked 198th in the FIFA standings, Timor-Leste endured a crushing 10-0 defeat to Thailand in their opening group match on Sunday in Vietnam. Despite this setback, head coach Simon Elissetche insists that his team’s focus is on growth and improvement.
“When you play football, you want to win, but even securing a draw against Malaysia would be a very good result for us,” said Elissetche at today’s pre-match press conference.
“More importantly, we aim to learn and improve, so we can become more competitive.
“We’ve never won in this tournament, but we hope to make history for the future of Timor-Leste football. Our priority is to deliver a better performance.”
Like Malaysia’s head coach, Pau Marti Vicente, Elissetche faces significant challenges in the tournament, including the absence of key players due to club commitments. However, he refrained from making excuses for his team’s struggles.
“In our last match against Thailand, we had serious defensive problems. We need to grow and ensure we don’t repeat those mistakes,” he said.
“We came here to learn and improve. We know we are considered the weakest team in Asean but we’ve shown promise against Mongolia (in the Asian Cup qualifiers) and Brunei (in AFF qualification).
“Although we had a poor start, we need to rebuild our morale and confidence. We aim to perform like we did against Mongolia and Brunei and hope to do better against Malaysia, and later against Singapore and Cambodia.”
For context, Malaysia has never lost to Timor-Leste in their footballing history. Tomorrow’s clash will offer both sides a chance to push forward in Group A, as Timor-Leste continues their quest for a historic first AFF Cup victory. – December 10, 2024