PETALING JAYA, Aug 30 — Harimau Malaya captain Dion Cools has called on his teammates to focus fully on Tier 1 international friendlies against Syria and China in Chengdu, China next month.
The Buriram United defender said the two friendlies away from home are important matches ahead of the tough task of the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers starting this November and the 2023 Asian Cup in Qatar, January next year.
“We had two very good games (in June) but now it’s time for serious work, very important games are coming up, two very strong opponents.
“We need to make sure we ready for first to qualify for World Cup and Asian Cup in January,” the 27-year-old Malaysian-Belgian player said when met on the first day of Harimau Malaya’s centralised training camp at the Wisma Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) in Kelana Jaya here today.
Malaysia are set to face Syria on September 6 and China three days later.
Cools will return to captain Harimau Malaya led by Kim Pan Gon after not being able to join the team last June as he was getting married.
He said the opportunity to wear the captain’s armband again is not burdensome instead it can boost his confidence.
“I feel very responsible on the pitch every time, even though I don’t wear the band I always try to help the team. I want to win every time I’m wearing the Malaysian jersey, this band gives me the confidence to help the team even more and more,” he said.
Meanwhile, naturalised striker Sergio Aguero is optimistic that the national squad will be able to compete with Syria and China, which are ranked top 100 in the world.
“Of course, it will be a very hard game against both teams, Syria and China but we also have good players, we just started training yesterday but we have a good team, I think we are ready to face big teams,” said the 29-year-old Sri Pahang player.
Meanwhile, in an FAM Facebook post today, its president Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin wants improved performance from the players starting from the two matches in Chengdu as they face the 2026 World Cup and Asian Cup qualifiers next year.
“This is the testing ground for Harimau Malaya ahead of the Asian Cup which begins with two actions in China before facing India and Palestine/Tajikstan at the 2023 Merdeka Festival. Next in November, the World Cup 2026/Asian Cup 2027 Qualifying campaign against Kyrgyzstan.
“All of these teams’ are ranked higher than us. Of course, this is the best testing ground for us to showcase our true ability to compete with the best teams in Asia,” he said. — Bernama
