KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 24 — The Harimau Malaya squad now have to overcome the likes of world number 89 Bahrain and Turkmenistan (134) to end Malaysia’s 42-year wait to qualify for the Asian Cup on merit.
In the draw for the third and final round of Asian Cup 2023 Qualifiers held virtually at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) headquarters, AFC House, in Bukit Jalil today, Malaysia, ranked 154 in the world, have been placed in Group E, which also includes Bangladesh (186).
Malaysia will have home-ground advantage as group hosts, kicking off their campaign at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium against Turkmenistan on June 8.
The Harimau Malaya, under the tutelage of new head coach Kim Pan-gon of South Korea, will then face Bahrain on June 11 and Bangladesh three days later to hunt for the Asian Cup ticket.
Hosts China and the top 12 teams from the second round of 2022 World Cup/2023 Asian Cup qualifiers have already booked their spots, including defending champions Qatar, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia and Australia.
In the final round qualifiers, 24 nations are set to fight for the remaining 11 spots, with only the winners of six groups and five best runners-up advancing.
Malaysia last qualified for the Asian Cup on merit in the 1980 Kuwait edition, while in 2007, the Harimau Malaya squad featured as joint hosts with Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.
Pan-gon and his new coaching team have scheduled the first centralised training camp for the Harimau Malaya on March 14 ahead of two Tier 1 international friendly matches against the Philippines on March 23 and Singapore on March 26. Both matches will be held in Singapore.
Full draw:
(Note: H denotes group hosts)
Group A: Jordan, Kuwait (H), Indonesia, Nepal
Group B: Palestine, Philippines, Yemen, Mongolia (H)
Group C: Uzbekistan (H), Thailand, Maldives, Sri Lanka
Group D: India (H), Hong Kong, Afghanistan, Cambodia
Group E: Bahrain, Turkmenistan, Malaysia (H), Bangladesh
Group F: Kyrgyzstan (H), Tajikistan, Myanmar, Singapore — Bernama
