North Korea are not unbeatable, Vingada tells his players

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia will be out to salvage some pride when they take on North Korea in their 2019 Asian Cup Group F qualifying match in Thailand today.

The winless Harimau Malaya are bottom of Group B with a point after four matches, virtually ruling them out of the Finals.

Lebanon lead with 10 points. North Korea and Hong Kong have five points each, but North Korea are second based on head-to-head record. Only the top two teams qualify for the Finals in the United Arab Emirates.

After today’s North Korea clash at the I-Mobile Stadium in Buriram, Malaysia face Lebanon in their final group match in March.

Malaysia coach Eduardo Vingada certainly faces a Herculean task in his bid to notch his first win in six matches since he took over the hot seat in May. On Friday, Malaysia were whipped 4-1 by North Korea.

Vingada, however, is not giving up.

“We are not out mathematically, but we need an impossible combination of results to qualify to the Finals. Whether it’s possible or not, that’s not important.

“The players must be ready to give their everything,” said Vingada in the pre-match press conference in Buriram yesterday.

“North Korea are not unbeatable. We lost to them.

“That’s a fact but my motto is never give up.”

The 64-year-old Vingada will welcome back skipper Safiq Rahim, who missed Friday’s match due to suspension.

But he will be without midfielder Syamer Kutty Abba and defenders Fazly Mazlan and S. Kunalan. All of them picked up knocks on Friday.

“Safiq is my best option in midfield, I’m confident his return will strengthen our team. We will play better than we did on Friday,” said Vingada.