KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 19 (Bernama) -- Malaysia’s run of five straight victories in Group F of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifying campaign is hoped will temporarily ease the off-field turmoil currently affecting the national football scene.
National squad head coach Peter Cklamovski said the success of his players in maintaining an unbeaten record and topping the group standings is something that ought to be celebrated by Harimau Malaya supporters.
"I'm proud of them (the players).. you know, the commitment we've shown and it's not easy to win international football. We've done it all year, undefeated.
“I think that's a story that can be talked about, written, and maybe put smiles on kids' faces. And hopefully kids want to play for Harimau Malaya and play like our players," he told reporters after the match against Nepal yesterday.
Commenting further on the turmoil affecting the national squad, the Australian coach admitted that he too was affected, but stressed that his focus remained firmly on his duties as head coach.
"It's frustrating.. it's out of our control, we can't do anything about it. If I focus anything on that, then I'm losing focus on my job and I can't do that. And, yeah, it'd be great if the noise or the situation wasn't in front of us, but that's the reality.
"And now that's for us to focus on what we have to do. And I hope the nation gets pride in the players and how they operate on and off the field. That's what we can control," he said.
The 1–0 victory over Nepal yesterday ensured that Malaysia maintained a perfect record after five matches and remained top of Group F with 15 points, followed by Vietnam in second place (nine points), Laos third (three points) and Nepal bottom without a single point.
Yesterday, the FIFA Appeal Committee released a 63-page written explanation behind its decision to uphold sanctions against the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and seven heritage players over document falsification issues.
On the same day, FAM announced that it had decided to proceed with an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) following FIFA’s latest report.
-- BERNAMA
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