Fired-up hitman Safawi will be Japan’s target

HITMAN Safawi Rasid will be the main focus as the Malaysian Under23 team try to upset Japan to qualify for the quarter-finals at the Patriot Chandrabhaga Stadium in Bekasi tonight.

The 21-year-old striker has surprisingly turned out to be the star of the tournament, and is the joint top scorer with South Korea’s Hwang Ui-jo on four goals.

Malaysia last met Japan in the group stage of the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games where the team guided by Datuk K. Rajagopal were beaten 2-0 by the eventual champions.

Malaysia coach Datuk Ong Kim Swee has received a massive boost with the return of the team’s creative spark Akhyar Rashid, who managed to shrug off a groin injury in time.

Although the Asian Games is an Under-23 event, Japan are represented by their Under-21 team, comprising players from the top division J1 League including Sanfrecce Hiroshima’s Taishi Matsumoto, Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo’s Koji Miyoshi and Gamba Osaka’s Ryo Hatsuse.

Japan are seen as less intimidating opponents following their shock loss to Vietnam in their final Group D match last week but Safawi said the Blue Samurai were still the giants of Asian football.

“I’ll be out to give everything to get a win. I have to thank my teammates for all their hard work as well,” said Safawi, who scored a brace in the win over South Korea (2-1) last week.

“We’re all focused. Akhyar’s return is wonderful news for us. We have other strikers in the squad but I combine well with him.

“I may have scored in the last three games but that’s not important ... as long as we can get a positive result, it will be okay. The strikers must be ready to help the defence.”

Kim Swee, the mastermind behind Malaysia’s run to the last 16, said his men could spring a surprise if they showed the same level of determination and discipline.

“The expectation has grown but that’s expected. We’ve shown our ability against big teams, and we’ll face Japan with the same mindset that we can beat them,” said Kim Swee.

“We can’t let this opportunity slip but we’re aware that Japan are superior in terms of tactics and skills. We’ll come up with a game plan against-them. We need to keep our composure throughout the match.

“The defenders have been solid and need to keep to their formation and stay disciplined. We need to frustrate our opponents and if we can do it for as long as we can, then half the battle is won.”