KUALA LUMPUR – With FIFA changing the qualification quota for Asian teams qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, national team head coach Kim Pan-gon now has an easier path to help Malaysia qualify for the world’s biggest football event.
Malaysia has a good chance of making it to the final qualifying round with the addition of naturalised and heritage players.
With Pan-gon at the wheel, Harimau Malaya is currently in full gear as they have secured six crucial points in their opening two qualification matches.
However, it has been 13 years since the national team tasted trophy success, with former national head coach Datuk K. Rajagopal remaining the only coach in the modern era of the Malaysian footballing landscape to have led the team to the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup, an international tournament with a team full of local players.
Speaking to Scoop, Rajagopal expressed his wish that FIFA would have introduced the change in the qualification quota for the 2010 edition.
He said it would have given his team, consisting entirely of local players, the opportunity to compete against top Asian teams.
“When I was coaching Harimau Malaya, it was tough as we only had four slots for Asian teams to qualify for the World Cup. Now, it’s much easier, with a total of eight plus one (play-off) teams able to participate.
“Teams ranked between 100 and 150 in the world now get to play in the third round of qualifications. During our days, we had to start from round one, making our chances of progressing tougher.
“The Asian Football Confederation has also recently increased the quota for teams participating in the Asian Cup from 16 to 24, making it easier for any Asian team to participate in the tournament.”
“I didn’t have the luxury of having naturalised and heritage players. My players were in their prime during my tenure as head coach. If this increase in quota had been implemented then, our team might have benefited from it,” he said.
Rajagopal also expressed his admiration for Pan-gon’s tactics and believes he is on the right track to lead the nation to the World Cup.
“I love watching the national team’s gameplay under Pan-gon. He has been performing well with the resources that he’s getting, and I like the positive mentality of the players under his leadership.
“I hope to see the players maintain their impressive run and accomplish the long-awaited mission,” Rajagopal added.
Beyond the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup victory, where Malaysia secured the championship for the first time since its inception in 1996, Rajagopal is renowned for guiding Malaysia’s Under-23 side to its first gold medal in 20 years at the 2009 SEA Games in Laos.
The 67-year-old coach’s illustrious career includes stints with Selangor FC, Kelantan FC, Sarawak FC, PKNS, and most recently, coaching the Brunei national team.
Last week, Malaysia edged Chinese Taipei 1-0 in their second Group D match of the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup and 2027 Asian Cup in Taipei.
Malaysia now sit top of Group D with six points and are scheduled to face Oman away on March 21 next year and host Oman in a return match on March 26, followed by Kyrgyzstan away (June 6) and Taiwan again in Bukit Jalil on June 11 in their quest to qualify for the third round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. – November 30, 2023