Keeping an eye on the rivals
COACH Ong Kim Swee does not consider next month’s AFC Under23 Championship qualifying round to be secondary in importance to the Kuala Lumpur Sea Games.
Although the Sea Games gold remains the national Under-22 team’s primary target, Kim Swee sees the qualifiers on July 19-23 in Bangkok as the perfect opportunity to gauge the strengths of regional rivals Thailand and Indonesia.
Both countries, along with Mongolia, have been drawn with Malaysia in Group H of the AFC Under-23 qualifiers and could meet again at the Sea Games.
“It’s very important and you can see that our group is like a pre-Sea Games tournament,” said Kim Swee.
“Indonesia and Thailand are also preparing for Sea Games and we can learn a lot about them. At the same time we also want to qualify for the finals in 2018.”
Among other Southeast Asian countries, Myanmar, Singapore and Brunei have also been drawn in the same AFC Under-23 group qualifying group alongside Australia while Vietnam have Timor Leste for company in Group I as Cambodia and Philippines face off in Group J.
The qualifying tournament provides an indicator as to the form of all the contenders ahead of the Sea Games.
Vietnam could draw a number of players from their Under-20 World Cup squad and provide the stiffest challenge yet to defending champions Thailand at the Sea Games.
Meanwhile, Malaysia play China in an Under-22 international friendly in Xiangtan today with Kim Swee set to give his players a chance to stake a place in the Sea Games squad.
One player who is a near certainty is Adam Nor Azlin with Kim Swee valuing highly the Selangor player’s versatility.
“Adam is a utility player and every coach has his own opinion (about his best position),” said Kim Swee of Adam who is equally adapt at playing in defence, midfield or forward.
“He has been with me for a very long time, he played as a centreback at the 2015 Sea Games and with the Young Tigers.
“But I’m not saying it will be permanent, he may be pushed to midfield or forward whenever I need and it depends on the situation of the game. With his quality I believe he can play in any position and that is an advantage for us.”