KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 23 — National head coach Kim Pan Gon is not just looking for a win but also building up a healthy goal difference in their second Group B match of the 2022 Asean Football Federation (AFF) Cup against Laos at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil here tomorrow night.

Pan Gon said the score line against the Million Elephants tomorrow and in subsequent matches could be crucial to determine which team advance to the semi-finals as group winners.

The South Korean coach said this was because Malaysia edged Myanmar 1-0 in the group opener last Wednesday while Vietnam thrashed Laos 6-0 in their opening game.

“Our target, must win (tomorrow) and also if we want to go to the top of the table we have to catch up on goal difference as well. Vietnam scored six goals away and we scored one, and now we are minus five.

“We will fully respect the Laos team because I think after a big loss, the team should really come back stronger. They don’t want to lose face again, so that is what we can expect. We must be stronger against Laos to achieve our target,” he said at a pre-match press conference here today.

Pan Gon warned his boys not to take their opponents lightly because Laos under the guidance of Michael Weiss were expected to be tough customers.

“They will keep the ball and not give us much space. We must be very focused, accurate and determined. It will be a more difficult game but if we are respectful of our approach, I think we can manage well,” said the 53-year-old coach.

Meanwhile, midfielder Brendan Gan said the team was always looking for opportunities to score as many goals as possible in every game but sometimes it just didn’t happen.

He said the team needed to stick to the coach’s instructions if they wanted to achieve the desired result.

“We should not worry about how Laos play or falling into their system of play. We have to focus on ourselves and be able to implement the game style the coach is giving us,” the Selangor FC player said.

Malaysia have never lost to Laos in the AFF Cup and in their last meeting the Harimau Malaya squad won 4-0 in the last edition’s group stage.

After Laos, Malaysia are set to face two tough matches, against Vietnam in Hanoi next Tuesday before hosting Singapore in the final group game here on January 3. — Bernama