YANGON: National head coach Kim Pan Gon is not worried about Malaysia’s past disappointing records against Myanmar, ahead of the clash between the two teams in the 2022 ASEAN Football Federation (AFF Cup) Group B opener at the Thuwunna Stadium, here tomorrow.
The South Korean coach said the away game was indeed a big challenge as the home team is set to use all the advantages available to clinch victory in front of their own supporters.
However, Pan Gon said the Harimau Malaya squad under his guidance was fully prepared and has a high level of confidence to bring home a positive result.
“I have experienced play against Myanmar several times, I feel the players are very skillful and have some attractive players with individual skills but I don’t care about previous performances or results.
“We focus on who we are and we are strong, we are also fully ready to adapt to any circumstances and I believe our players are very hungry for tomorrow’s game. I believe they will give their best performance,” he said during a pre-match press conference here, today.
In the last four meetings here in all competitions since 2008, Malaysia has lost three and drawn once before the Harimau Malaya squad won 3-0 during the group stage of the AFF Cup in 2018.
Pan Gon said three points against Myanmar was important before playing against Laos at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on Dec 24, followed by two crucial matches against Vietnam in Hanoi (Dec 27) and Singapore (Jan 3) in Bukit Jalil.
“Very important (to get first three points), we have a certain target but we will try our best and we know that it is very important, everybody knows it is very important and will fight for that,” he said.
Meanwhile, Myanmar head coach Antoine Hey is excited to lead his team to play their first home game in three years.
He said, that gives the players an opportunity to show their true ability and what they can achieve by receiving proper support.
“We are very happy to play at home again after three years, it is a wonderful opportunity for us to show what we can do. We started training a couple of weeks ago and played several friendlies as well as training matches.
“In the past, we worked very hard, (so) physically we are well prepared, we have the team together that we wanted to have….all players are fit, no injuries, everybody is looking very motivated and focused so we can’t wait for the match tomorrow,” said the 52-year-old German coach.-Bernama
