PETALING JAYA, Nov 11 (Bernama) -- The national football team need to get back on the winning track ahead of the 2024 ASEAN Championship, which will kick off next month.
National midfielder Stuart Wilkin said the two Tier 1 international friendlies this month provide the best opportunity for the Harimau Malaya squad to show that they are capable of winning after last month's 4-0 humbling by New Zealand.
He said all the players were disappointed with the result of the friendly against the Kiwis last month and he hopes that they can bounce back in style when they take on Laos at the PAT Stadium in Bangkok on Thursday (Nov 14) and India at the Gachibowli Stadium in Hyderabad on Nov 18.
“I think so (that this is the right time to get back to winning ways). I think it’s the perfect opportunity for us to prove that we can win games. We were all disappointed about the results (in New Zealand) but we played against two very high-quality teams.
“So, I think we can bounce back and, hopefully, get good results this time,” said the Sabah FC player when met before the Harimau Malaya training session at Wisma FAM (Football Association of Malaysia) in Kelana Jaya here today.
In last month's FIFA international window period, Malaysia travelled to Auckland for two friendlies, drawing 1-1 with Auckland FC (Tier 2) and losing 4-0 to New Zealand.
The national team had, before that, chalked up three successive victories - downing Taiwan 3-1 in the second round of the 2026 World Cup/2027 Asian Cup Qualifiers in June and beating Lebanon 1-0 and the Philippines 2-1 en route to emerging champions of the 2024 Merdeka Tournament in September.
In the ASEAN Championship, 2010 champions Malaysia have been drawn in Group A with defending champions Thailand, Cambodia, Singapore and Timor Leste.
Meanwhile, FAM said in a statement that Chonburi FC striker Fergus Tierney has been called up as a replacement for Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) forward Romel Morales, who is injured.
Fergus and Harimau Malaya skipper Dion Cools will travel straight to Bangkok to join up with the national squad, under coach Pau Marti Vicente, tomorrow.
-- BERNAMA
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