PETALING JAYA – Malaysian-Finnish player Nooa Laine is determined to capture the heart of Harimau Malaya head coach Kim Pan Gon if he is selected among the 25 players to compete in Group D of the World Cup 2026 / Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers campaign against Oman.
While being fully aware of the fierce competition among the 33 players called by the South Korean coach at the recent centralised training camp, he said he is ready to give his best to take on the national challenge.
The Selangor FC striker for the 2024/2025 season was last called up to join the senior squad during the same qualifying action against Kyrgyzstan and Taiwan last year.
“Yes, it is definitely important for me to get a place in the senior squad. I’m used to the competition, it’s normal because we have a good squad.
“There are definitely players who have been with Malaysia longer but whenever given the opportunity, I will give my best,” he said when met at the national squad training session here today.
Malaysia, ranked 132nd in the world, is scheduled to face Oman at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Muscat on March 21 (March 22, 2am Malaysia time) before hosting the world’s 80th-ranked team at Bukit Jalil National Stadium on March 26.
Harimau Malaya are now leading Group D with six points, followed by Oman and Kyrgyzstan who share three points each in second and third place, while Taiwan are at the bottom without any points with four games remaining.
The 22-year-old believes with just one warm-up against Nepal on Friday ahead of the 2026 World Cup/2027 Asian Cup qualifiers in Group D is not a big deal.
He said the national squad will almost certainly have enough time to build momentum in an effort to steal points in both matches.
“Of course there is a difference to perform during the season and we have just gone through the pre-season. There is a difference especially in terms of match fitness.
“But I see this is not a problem because we still have enough time. The coaching team did a good job for our preparations against Oman,” he said, who will then shift his focus to the Under-23 Asian Cup (U-23) in Qatar next month. – March 12, 2024