KUALA LUMPUR – The Junior Speedy Tigers are all set to face an uphill task in their opening fixture against Chile in the upcoming FIH Junior Hockey World Cup.
Head coach Muhamad Amin Rahim openly admits his admiration for La Rojas and says that he was mesmerised by the team’s gameplay over the months.
“I watched Chile play a friendly match against the Kuala Lumpur U-17 team a couple of days ago, and I have to say that their performance is ‘gempak’ (remarkable).
“We should not underestimate their capabilities, and we have to give our 100% when we face them in the opening fixture,” he said
“We have the experience of playing against them in the 2021 edition, and we are ready to take our revenge by clinching the all-important 3 points. Our players are motivated after playing in the Sultan of Johor Cup earlier this month, where we rubbed shoulders with some of the best teams in the world,” he said
“Currently, we are injury-free, and we have the advantage of playing at home, but that doesn’t mean that we are setting a target to finish as champions in this tournament.
“We are going to take this tournament one step at a time, and as a coach, I am going to give all of my players as much exposure as possible,” Amin said today at a press conference at the National Hockey Stadium.
The Chilean team comprises eight 16-year-olds and two 15-year-olds, with the highest cap at 10 for four players.
Chile and Malaysia were in the same group at the Bhubaneswar edition in 2021, where the latter won 2-1 to reach the quarter-finals
Meanwhile, Amin also highlighted the potential threats that his charges may endure while facing the Australian team and is ready to work closely with his coaching team to overcome the challenges.
“Australia has shown great improvement in gameplay over the past six months. A couple of years ago, they used to struggle playing against nations with a tropical climate, but now they are defeating such teams with ease.
“Our coaching team has been analysing their flaws, and we are working on ways to beat them. Hopefully, we can give them a good game on December 8 in front of our home fans,” Amin added.
At the same time, team captain and centre-back Muhamad Faris Harizan, who will be making his second appearance in the Junior World Cup, aims to use his experience and guide his teammates to do their best in the tournament.
“Coach Amin has selected the best 18 players for the tournament, and as a team captain, my job is to make sure that our team learns from our flaws in the Sultan of Johor Cup and touches up on them before our opening fixture.
“I’m actually excited to play in this year’s edition in front of the home fans, and I believe that it will be a great boost for us to perform better.
“Under the guidance of Christopher Ciriello, we have been doing well with our penalty corners, and I hope we can score more through our set pieces in upcoming games,” said Faris, who has 18 senior caps under his belt.
Former Australian penalty corner specialist and World Cup winner Ciriello was hired by the Malaysian Hockey Confederation in March this year to sharpen the national men’s and women’s penalty corners.
A total of 18 players were selected by Amin for the 13th edition of the World Cup, with midfielder Muhammad Adam Ashraf being the youngest (17 years old) player in the squad.
The team that played in the Sultan of Johor Cup forms the core of the World Cup squad. Malaysia finished seventh out of eight teams in the tournament last month.
The World Cup will be hosted in Kuala Lumpur from December 5 to 16.
Malaysia is placed in Pool A alongside defending champions Argentina, Australia, and Chile.
The opening match of the tournament, between France and Egypt in Pool B, will take place on December 5, while the Junior Speedy Tigers will commence their campaign against Chile on the same day. – November 28, 2023