Malaysia should go for young blood against North Korea
WITH the final whistle in Friday’s 4-1 defeat to North Korea, Malaysia’s hopes of reaching the 2019 Asian Cup finals also went up in smoke.
Malaysia, who have got only a single point after four matches in Group B, trail Hong Kong and North Korea by four points.
With the second encounter against North Korea tomorrow and an away trip to group leaders Lebanon next year still to be played, it will be hard for Malaysia to gain sufficient points for qualification.
Coach Nelo Vingada is now in a difficult position as to what to do next — whether to persevere with the experienced senior players or start building the next batch of national players.
Vingada had admitted after the latest defeat that Malaysia don’t stand a chance of reaching the Asian Cup finals, and because of that, he should make the brave decision to go with the second option.
As Syamer Kutty Abba showed against Hong Kong, and Safawi Rasid did in the match against North Korea, it’s time to go completely with a new set of players.
In the short time that he was given after replacing Afiq Fazail, Nor Azam Azih managed to produce a better performance than some of his more established compatriots.
Francisco “Kiko” Insa Bohigues has been neither here nor there with his performance since being brought into the national team set-up, and looks to be one particular experiment that Vingada will have to cut his losses.
In defence, Nor Adam Azlin who was outstanding in the KL Sea Games, should get an opportunity to prove his worth even if it’s a risk putting him in an unfamiliar two-man centre back pairing.
Young players may produce inconsistent performance but that is something that will only improve with more experience gained from actual match playing time.
Safawi himself was a peripheral figure when he was played from the start against Hong Kong but his pace and willingness to run at North Korea saw him scored the only goal of the match for Malaysia.
“If the coach decides to field more youngsters, I hope that we, including myself, will be able to perform to our best level,” said Safawi
As Malaysia head into tomorrow’s match staring at the possibility of ending the year without a single win, some form of changes will need to be implemented sooner rather than later. Ooi Kin Fai