ASIA CUP FINAL

The Asia Cup champions also qualify for the World Cup and so far, Malaysia, Pakistan and hosts India have qualified from Asia.

National coach Stephen van Huizen said he may take a mixed team to the Asia Cup, as for Malaysia, the tournament only offers ranking points.

He is still in two minds about the final 18.

“The coach has not selected his 18 so nobody, including myself, are assured of a spot. The chosen ones must carry the pride of having qualified for the World Cup and give their best to beat lower ranked teams,” added Shukri.

Malaysia open their campaign against China on Oct 11: “We have beaten China twice this year and should make it a treble,” said Shukri.

In the World League Round Two which was also held in Dhaka, Malaysia beat China 5-3 in a shoot-out after a 2-2 draw.

In the WL Semi-finals in London, Malaysia won 5-1. Malaysia also beat South Korea 1-0 in London while Oman, who Malaysia hammered 6-1 in Dhaka, are the team’s last Group B opponents.

After that, the top two teams from both groups play in a round-robin league with the top-two qualifying for the final.

As the highest-ranked teams, India and Malaysia are touted to be the last two standing.

There is no reason for Malaysia to lose to lower-ranked teams anymore as we need to keep our pride intact after having qualified for the World Cup next year.”