CKLAMOVSKI CONFIDENT HARIMAU MALAYA CAN END VIETNAM JINX

PETALING JAYA, April 23 (Bernama) -- Head coach Peter Cklamovski is confident that Harimau Malaya have what it takes to defeat Vietnam when the two sides meet in a crucial Group F match of the 2027 Asian Cup Qualifiers at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on June 10.

While acknowledging the strength of the Vietnamese team, the 46-year-old Australian tactician believes Malaysia can rise to the occasion with the right preparation and mindset.

“It’s not easy to beat Vietnam but it's not impossible, and we’ll give everything to do just that,” he told reporters when met at the Malaysian Football League (MFL)-Football Association of Malaysia (FAM)-Amateur Football League (AFL) Raya Open House at the Wisma FAM in Kelana Jaya here today.

Cklamovski stressed that the upcoming centralised training camp which is expected to begin as early as May 16, will be crucial for his players to recover from a long league season and gear up mentally and physically for the high-stakes encounter.

“We’ll go into camp fully focused, determined and ready to make Malaysians proud again by the way we play and work hard to get a result.

“It’s important we get our preparations right because that’s an off-season period. The players can freshen up and then we’ll enter camp, get everything in order and be ready for a tough game against a tough opponent,” he said.

He also revealed that plans are underway to organise at least one or two friendlies at home to help the team find their rhythm ahead of the qualifier.

Malaysia have lost their last five encounters against Vietnam in all competitions, with the most recent meeting ending in a 3-0 defeat in the group stage of the 2022 ASEAN Cup (formerly known as AFF Cup).

In the Group F opening games last month, Vietnam trounced Laos 5-0 while Malaysia defeated Nepal 2-0.

-- BERNAMA