SEPANG, Oct 7 — National squad head coach Pau Marti Vicente does not expect the absence of skipper Dion Cools to be a setback for Harimau Malaya when they face New Zealand in a friendly on Oct 14.

Vicente said that even with Cools ruled out, some of his other players are capable of taking up the leadership role, with Matthew Davies and Mohammad Syamer Kutty Abba among those in line to lead the team against the Kiwis at the North Harbour Stadium in Auckland.

"Of course, all players are very important but what we need to believe in is that we have a strong team. So, if any player is missing, we still have many good players who can take on his (Cools) role as well. So, I am very confident about all my players.

"It’s more of a collective work and everybody must feel important. Of course, this is an important match. We are going up against a higher-ranked team,” he told reporters before the team left for New Zealand at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) here yesterday.

Earlier yesterday, the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) said in a statement that Cools would not be joining Harimau Malaya to face the Kiwis due to family matters.

Vicente said the match against New Zealand, nicknamed the All Whites, would give the coaches the best opportunity to assess the chemistry between the players, especially with the inclusion of some newcomers.

He added that the game would also be helpful for his boys to get some playing time and step up their preparation for the 2024 ASEAN Championship, previously known as the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Cup, in December.

"For me, it is very important to arrange quality friendlies to prepare ourselves... the better the opponents, the better it is for us to have the best preparation.

"I believe that it has been almost 20 years since Malaysia played against New Zealand. Difficult country, a difficult team to play against. So, I think we need to get used to facing these kinds of oppositions...,” he said.

The Harimau Malaya last played against New Zealand 18 years ago, with head coach Norizan Bakar’s men losing 1-0 to the Kiwis in Christchurch on Feb 19, 2006 and 2-1 in Auckland four days later.