Harimau Malaya ready for AFF Cup

NILAI: The Harimau Malaya squad is in the best position to face the 2018 Suzuki ASEAN Football Federation Cup Championship on Nov 8.

National Football squad head coach Tan Cheng Hoe said the squad’s preparation was going smoothly except for Kedah’s young star Muhammad Akhyar Abdul Rashid who was still injured.

“Nevertheless, the players are so excited and committed in training sessions. So ahead of the last friendly match with the Maldives on Nov 3, I hope no players get injured and the match is also the final test for us to determine the 23-player line-up.

“I do not want players to feel pressured to show their best but they should play with high confidence,” he told Bernama when met at a national football squad training session at Padang A Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) yesterday.

Cheng Hoe said all 26 players who were asked to join the national squad had reported themselves including five Perak players who were involved in the Malaysia Cup final last Saturday and Muhammad Akhyar who joined the 2018 Asia Football Confederation (AFC) Under 19 Championship.

Asked about the compatibility of the young and senior players in his squad, Cheng Hoe said so far the senior players have given good support to the young players in forming a solid team.

“The young players also want to compete with the senior players ... so every training, competition is given and this is a good and healthy sign for the team,” he said.

Commenting on a meeting with Maldives Wednesday at the Bukit Jalil Stadium before flying to Cambodia for the 2018 Suzuki AFF Cup Championship opening on Nov 8, Cheng Hoe said he wanted a win and a positive result in every game.

“And more importantly, we want to see the best performance in terms of team combination,” he said.