THREE-WAY TUSSLE

Malaysia need to beat England and hope Australia defeat Argentina for final slot

THREE teams will be battling for one final slot in the Azlan Shah Cup today in Ipoh. Australia checked in early on 12 points while Argentina, Malaysia and England will be playing for the other final slot.

For Malaysian coach Stephen van Huizen and his men, they must first hope World No 1 Australia beat World No 2 Argentina in the first match of the day.

And then Malaysia need to beat England to play in the final.

“We know the situation well, and we were really hoping to claim the final ticket by beating India but it did not happen.

“Now, it’s out of our hands as Australia need to beat Argentina to keep our hopes alive.

“Nevertheless, we will play all out for a win against England for the highest possible finish in the tournament,” said van Huizen.

Malaysia, who played badly against India and lost 5-1, today will be hoping to play like they did in the 2-1 win against Argentina.

“All the players have knocks and bruises but only Marhan (Jalil) might not be available for Friday as he had received a nasty knock against India.

“We know there is a good chance to beat England, and we will not throw it away regardless of the outcome of the first match (Argentina v Australia).”

On the India match, van Huizen said: “I am certainly not happy with the way we played against India. We did not expect this sort of result coming into the game. We thought that after the Argentina game, we have a chance to put ourselves in the final.

“We just have to regroup and try to play a good game against England. As I have said coming into this tournament, if we can get some good results, it’s good enough (as preparation for the Commonwealth, Asian Games and World Cup).