DANIAL STAYS HUMBLE
He says team effort led to Malaysia’s shock win over Saudis
MIDFIELDER Danial Amier Norhisham described his winning goal against Saudi Arabia in Tuesday’s AFC Under23 Championship Group C match as the best moment of his career, but said he was not the only hero in that game in Kunshan.
The unexpected win over the Asian giants sealed Malaysia a quarter-final spot by finishing second behind Iraq in the group.
“I am no hero, it was a team effort. We arrived here being one of the underdogs and today, we have made it to the quarter-finals. I am happy to have contributed to the team in a very big way,” said the Kuala Lumpurborn Danial yesterday.
“We played to tactics as a formidable unit and I owe everything to my teammates for scoring that goal.
“Everyone wants to score in an international match and I am glad that I finally did. It was my first goal in an international match and I did so in a very important game.”
The 21-year-old, who paired up with Nor Azam Azih in central midfield, picked up a poor Saudi clearance and scored in the 28th minute before Malaysia played it tight until the final whistle.
Danial, who is with Premier League side Felda United, did not play a competitive match for eight months after his former club, Frenz United shut down in 2016.
However, Felda saved his career my signing him for the President’s Cup last season.
Asked on the team’s target for the quarter-finals on Saturday, he said: “We are not setting a target as reaching this far is already a huge achievement.”
“However, we will not waste this opportunity as it does not come every day. We will do our best as anything can happen in the knockout stage,” Danial added.