KUALA LUMPUR, June 5 — Kim Pan Gon is facing one of his toughest moments with Harimau Malaya as he deals with a crisis of injuries to key players ahead of the remaining two crucial matches in Group D of the second round of the 2026 World Cup/2027 Asian Cup qualifiers this month.

Coincidentally or not, the injury crisis that sees the 55-year-old South Korean coach losing six players comes as the national team face a must-win mission against the world’s 100th-ranked team, Kyrgyzstan, at Dolen Omurzakov Stadium in Bishkek tomorrow night.

The injury crisis involves five attacking players — wingers Mohamad Faisal Abdul Halim and Arif Aiman Mohd Hanapi; forwards Darren Lok, Muhammad Syafiq Ahmad, and Romel Morales; as well as the country’s number one goalkeeper Ahmad Syihan Hazmi Mohamed.

Notably, Faisal Halim scored the winning goal when Malaysia defeated Kyrgyzstan 4-3 in the first group match at Bukit Jalil National Stadium here last November, while Arif Aiman made a sensation with four assists that night.

With limited options in the attacking front now, Pan Gon must wisely determine the best combination of old and new players, including Muhammad Akhyar Abdul Rashid, Muhammad Safawi Rasid, Nur Shamie Iszuan Amin, Zhafri Yahya and Muhammad Haqimi Azim Rosli, who have been brought to Bishkek.

Although there are doubts about the capability of the national team’s frontline, this perception can change with effective play by the midfield and defence in helping create dangerous moves and subsequently breaking through Kyrgyzstan’s goal.

The national team’s strength this time lies in the midfield, as Pan Gon has managed to gather his preferred experienced players such as Paulo Josue, Endrick Dos Santos, Mohamed Syamer Kutty Abba, Stuart Wilkin and Brendan Gan to support the frontline.

In defence, Pan Gon also faces no problem in assembling the best players, including Dion Cools, Matthew Davies, La’vere Corbin-Ong, Muhamad Feroz Baharudin, Dominic Tan, Shahrul Mohd Saad and Daniel Ting.

The only concern is the void left by Ahmad Syihan, as the 28-year-old goalkeeper’s experience in high-intensity matches is greatly needed, and the individual who will replace him must quickly prepare in all aspects.

The three goalkeepers brought to Bishkek are Muhammad Azri Ab Ghani, Kalamullah Al-Hafiz Mat Rowi and Sikh Izhan Nazrel Sikh Azman.

Based on current performance, Kyrgyzstan, coached by Stefan Tarkovic from Slovakia, are in good form and hungry for success, especially after recording two consecutive group wins over Taiwan in March.

Meanwhile, Malaysia have yet to achieve any victory this year since the 2023 Asian Cup campaign in Qatar in January, before suffering two consecutive losses to Oman in the group matches also in March.

According to local football analyst Datuk Pekan Ramli, Harimau Malaya’s presence in Bishkek should be intimidating, but due to the injury crisis that has left the team "crippled,” the national team’s status has now changed to underdogs.

"With Harimau Malaya’s status changed to underdogs, our stake to win is considered very low.

"However, we hope that with the ‘ingredients’ and ‘flavours’ that Pan Gon currently has, this phenomenal South Korean coach can maintain the ‘secret recipe’ and mix it to bring success for Malaysia.

"The hope for us to win is not very high, but we hope for something unexpected to happen, ‘the ball is round,’ and with the prayers of all our football supporters, we can surprise Kyrgyzstan,” he said when contacted by Bernama today.

After the match against Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia will then conclude the group stage by hosting the world’s 159th-ranked team, Taiwan, at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium on June 11.

After seeing his team drop to 138th in the world rankings in April, Pan Gon needs three points in both of the last matches while hoping Oman defeat Kyrgyzstan to brighten their chances of making history by qualifying for the third round of World Cup qualifiers.

Qualifying for the third round of World Cup qualifiers will secure Malaysia’s spot in the 2027 Asian Cup early.

Oman and Kyrgyzstan will meet in the last group match on June 11 in Muscat, with the home team having the opportunity to avenge their first match defeat in Bishkek last November and potentially win Group D.

After four matches, Malaysia are in third place in Group D with six points, while Kyrgyzstan lead, sharing nine points with second-placed Oman, and Taiwan last without any points. — Bernama