KUALA LUMPUR – While the physical advantage rests in the hands of Arab nations, Harimau Malaya fullback Syahmi Safari is confident that the squad has what it takes to compete with them in the Asian Cup which kicks off on January 12 until February 10 in Qatar.
Malaysia will play Jordan and Bahrain in their first two games in Group E, and Syahmi believes there is not a significant gap between his team and these two countries.
“We’ve already played Bahrain during the qualifiers, and we had no problems competing with them.
“If every player is up for the challenge and commits to great teamwork, we can achieve a positive result,” said the 25-year-old Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) player in a video shared with the media by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) today.
He also echoed the sentiment of Harimau Malaya legend Datuk Zainal Abidin Hassan that the team needs to secure as many points as possible in the opening fixtures.
“We need to be realistic. It all depends on our efforts on the pitch on game day to conjure up a (positive) result against them,” Syahmi added.
Malaysia’s last group game will be against South Korea whose team is littered with players who ply their trade in Europe’s top leagues like Tottenham’s Son Heung-min, Paris Saint-Germain’s Lee Kang-in and Wolves’ Hwang Hee-chan.
As such, the former Selangor FC player sees this as an invaluable opportunity for his teammates to gain experience against high-calibre opponents.
“We have nothing to lose going up against them. We have to deliver our best performance, not get stressed, and enjoy the match,” added Syahmi.
Malaysia, ranked 130 in the world, will kick off its campaign on January 16 against Jordan at the Al Janoub Stadium, followed by Bahrain on January 20 at the Jassim Bin Hammad Stadium.
The group stage will conclude with a challenging match against South Korea on January 25.
On Wednesday, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil announced that all 51 matches of the Asian Cup will be broadcast live on RTM.
The Bukit Jalil National Stadium will also be opened to the public free of charge for viewing parties of matches on big screens.
Additionally, live viewing parties will take place in 15 locations across the nation. – January 6, 2023