KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 25 — A challenge to win the golden boot in the ongoing 2022 Asean Football Federation (AFF) Cup has spurred on form national winger Mohamad Faisal Abdul Halim to bag three goals in this edition of the regional tournament so far.

Selangor FC’s new 24-year-old Selangor FC player said he was challenged by Harimau Malaya chief coach Kim Pan Gon to also win the title.

"Actually, it (becoming championship top scorer) comes with a huge responsibility, but I accept the challenge as a motivation for me to do better.

“I accept Kim Pan Gon's challenge... he really wants me to be the top scorer," he said when met after Malaysia's big 5-0 victory over Laos in the second match of Group B of the AFF Cup at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil, last night.

Mohamad Faisal said the challenge pushed him to hunt for goals, first by scoring in Malaysia’s opening 1-0 win against Myanmar in Yangon on Wednesday, before adding a brace to the tally through well-taken headers against Laos.

However, the nippy forward, who is fast becoming a fan favourite, was quick to say that the golden boot was not the most important thing, and pointed out that the national squad still had to play Vietnam on Tuesday in Hanoi, and Singapore here on Jan 3 in their hunt for a top-four berth.

"The important thing is that I want the team to be in the final. That's the most important goal, whether I get the top scorer title or not, or whether I manage to score a goal after this or not, it doesn't matter.

"Even if I don’t score a goal, it doesn’t matter as long as the team wins. We qualify for the semi-finals and then the final," said Mohamad Faisal, who is also been trusted by Pan Gon to be one of the three captains for the national team, besides Muhammad Safawi Rasid and Brendan Gan, in this championship.

Mohamad Faisal and Filipino striker Kenshiro Daniels now lead the top scorer chart with three goals each from two games.

For the record, former national team captain Safiq Rahim is the last Malaysian player to claim the AFF Cup top scorer title after bagging six goals in the 2014 edition.

After two games, Malaysia lead Group B with six points, Vietnam and Singapore, with only one game played, are in second and third with three points each, while Myanmar and Laos at the bottom two without any points. — Bernama