Skip to main content

Football / Asia Zone World Cup Qualifiers: Chance to boost confidence Read more: Football / Asia Zone World Cup Qualifiers: Chance to boost confidence

Malaysia’s Safee Sali hopes to build on his club form to score his first international goal of the year today.
Malaysia’s Safee Sali hopes to build on his club form to score his first international goal of the year today. 
 
MALAYSIA are eager to carry their AFF Cup-winning form into the Asia Zone World Cup Qualifiers where they hope to start their campaign on a positive note against Taiwan in a first round first leg match at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil today.




Coach K. Rajagobal has named a formidable 23-man squad that include 14 players from the AFF Cup team. The coach acknowledges the praise for Malaysia following their AFF Cup performance but he wants to put that aside and look forward to "a new chapter".

"It will be our first tournament after winning the AFF Cup. Everyone is eager and excited about tomorrow (today). We need to focus and play at our best level for a good result," said Rajagobal after a team managers' meeting at Wisma FAM in Kelana Jaya yesterday.

"We made history by winning the AFF Cup. I told my boys, 'let's make bigger history in the World Cup Qualifiers'.
"We want to beat Taiwan. If we play well, we will get the goals. It does not matter if the final score is 1-0 as long we win. My players are mentally and physically prepared for the match."

Except for first choice goalkeeper Khairul Fahmi Che Mat, the others are injury-free. Khairul, who is down with a shoulder problem, may not be named in the starting line-up.

The Kelantan player has kept his training light since reporting for national duty after the second round, second leg of the Olympic Qualifiers against Lebanon last Thursday.

Rajagobal, however, declined to reveal whether second-choice Sharbinee Allawee will replace Khairul today.

"I need to look at him (Khairul) again before making a decision. Those who were nursing injuries have recovered from them."

Among those returning from injuries are strikers Norshahrul Idlan Talaha, Ahmad Fakri Saraani and Abdul Hadi Yahya. The trio, however, may not be match-fit but Rajagobal has options in Safee Sali and Baddrol Baktiar.

Safee will be the striker the national team will be counting on today. The AFF Cup top-scorer has been outstanding since joining Indonesia Super League club Pelita Jaya, where he has scored seven goals in 13 appearances. However, he sustained a light leg injury in training yesterday.

However, Safee hopes to build on his club form to score his first international goal of the year today.

The national team, who have never qualified for the World Cup, are undefeated in three international friendly matches since winning the AFF Cup.

Captain Safiq Rahim said he and his teammates are hungry for success in the World Cup Qualifiers.

"Our target is to go as far as possible in the qualifiers. We are eager to make an impression. Everyone is mentally prepared for this challenge," said Safiq, who plays for Super League side Selangor.

"We have gone through all the required drills and also watched Taiwan's recent matches on video. As far as we are concerned, we have done our homework on our East Asian rivals."

Probable line-up: Sharbinee Allawee, Mohd Aidil Zafuan Abd Radzak, Mohd Muslim Ahmad, Asraruddin Putra Omar, Mahalli Jasuli, Safiq Rahim, Amar Rohidan, S. Kunanlan, Amirulhadi Zainal, Safee Sali, Baddrol Baktiar.

Read more: NST

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Malaysian junior athletes are just too ‘lembik’

Saya setuju. We are working on more coaches! “ @ManOlimpik : Malaysian junior athletes are just too ‘lembik’ http://t.co/7D7wmHWaNy ” — Khairy Jamaluddin (@Khairykj) June 10, 2014 The benchmark. Can our junior athletes train as hard as Malaysia's world No.1 badminton player, Lee Chong Wei? “IT IS okay lah. The training is not too bad lah. I will try lah … Wah, so hard lah today.” These are some of the common statements I hear from our juniors nowadays. It is not only in badminton. It is the easy-going, laid-back attitude and lack of competitiveness at grassroots level that we have problems producing quality players. I have travelled quite a bit. After ending my decade-long career with the national team, I went to play in the league in Europe. It’s different there. The European athletes know what they want. And they do it with real focus. Even the young ones possess admirable self-control and show a high level of commitment. During my time in the ...
12 comments
Read more

Organising Major Sports Events Can Inspire Sports Culture Among The People - Khairy

PUTRAJAYA, June 5 (Bernama) -- Organising major sports events can help inspire sports culture among the people and ensure a healthy lifestyle said Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin. Khairy said the Tour of Malaysia cycling race organised since 1963, for example, can encourage more people to take the sport in a more competitive way or just for recreation purposes. "A study carried out by a world renown medical journal, The Lancet, revealed that 61 percent of adults in Malaysia do not engage themselves in active sports. "A study by the Health Ministry revealed that only 25 percent of Malaysians exercise," he said in his speech when launching the 2013 Tour of Malaysia (Jelajah Malaysia) at the Youth and Sports Ministry, here, Wednesday. "Cycling, though not as popular here as in countries like Denmark, the activity is becoming popular among the people as can be seen through an increase in sale of bicycles for recreation," he sa...
Post a Comment
Read more

KBS realistik

TERUJA...Shabery (dua dari kanan) melancarkan Logo Tahun Industri Sukan 2011-2012 di Casa 1, MSN, semalam.    KETIKA beberapa sukan utama diletakkan sasaran meraih pingat khususnya emas di Sukan Olimpik 2012 London, penyertaan bola sepak dan hoki sebagai keluarga baru program Road To London pula dilihat sekadar membantu mereka melepasi kelayakan. Mungkin bersikap lebih realistik dengan keupayaan kedua-dua sukan itu di pentas lebih tinggi, Menteri Belia dan Sukan, Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek mahu segala bantuan diberikan kepada sejumlah 50 pemain bola sepak dan hoki kebangsaan bagi membolehkan mereka tersenarai sebagai kontinjen ke London. “Bagi acara hoki dan bola sepak, kita tidak boleh melihat bantuan perlu diberi selepas mereka layak tetapi kita akan cuba bantu mereka supaya mereka layak. “Tiada kompromi terhadap misi mendapatkan emas pertama tetapi sasaran kita tahun ini ialah mendapatkan seberapa ramai atlet ke Sukan Olimpik,” katanya selepas mempen...
Post a Comment
Read more