KUALA LUMPUR – If Malaysia cannot beat Taiwan tomorrow, then Harimau Malaya do not deserve to progress to the next qualifying round, said national team coach Kim Pan-gon.
Both teams will clash tomorrow at the Municipal Stadium for the second Group D game in the second round of the 2026 World Cup/2027 Asian Cup qualifiers.
The South Korean admitted there is big pressure on his men to overcome the challenge of the host nation, led by Englishman Garry White – but it is a hurdle that they must overcome to achieve their targets.
“Taiwan’s home record is very strong, especially with the new coach coming in. I can see that the team has improved.
“If we cannot get three points against Taiwan then it will be very tough, it is a big pressure on me but a positive one because we have a target.
“Getting three points tomorrow will get us closer to the next round of qualifying, and I think that gives us more motivation to win,” said the 54-year-old at a pre-match press conference in Taiwan.
As mentioned by the coach, the Blue Wings have a good record at home especially against Malaysia as the Harimau Malaya squad have lost all three of the most recent away fixtures to the former, with the most recent defeat being 2-0 in a friendly match in 2018.
“History is history, we have a new team and coach, and this will be a new game.
“We will be humble and respect the recent success that Taiwan has had against us.
“But we will create new history tomorrow as we have a dream of going to the top 18 in the World Cup qualification.
“To get there we will fight for it to get the three points we need tomorrow, and we will not step back,” added Pan-gon.
He also mentioned that Harimau Malaya’s coaching set-up has performed analysis on Taiwan’s squad and hopefully, the information will prove to be useful come game day.
The former Hong Kong coach is not worried about the cold weather in Chinese Taipei, saying his players can perform well in these conditions. – November 20, 2023