Not this time: Paulo Josue (left), who scored a hattrick, sees his attempt saved by the Papua New Guinea goalkeeper. — Bernama
PETALING JAYA: The Harimau Malaya are on a high after their 10-0 demolition of Papua New Guinea in a friendly on Tuesday.
With the huge win – their fourth in a row – Malaysia moved up two rungs in the FIFA rankings from 138th to 136th.
Better still, the crowd-pleasing performance at the Sultan Mizan Stadium in Gong Badak, Terengganu, has got the spectators all excited for more.
But Malaysia coach Kim Pan-gon was quick to keep the excitement level among his players low – he is worried that fans’ expectations will skyrocket after this big win and they would not be able to accept a defeat later on.
The South Korean reminded the supporters to accept the fact that the team can still lose games after this, and pleaded for their support to help the players bounce back when that happens.
“That’s what I’m worried about - our improvement is too quick and we’re moving up the rankings too fast. Yes, that’s a boost as we prepare for the Asian Cup next year but at the same time, it may not be a good sign as people will expect too much,’’ said Pan-gon.
‘’One day, we may sink, so there’s a limit to all this.
“But I still want everyone to enjoy the moment and be united. If we lose, we must encourage our players and cry together too. I want that environment in Malaysia. All must be united, make it like a family.”
Pan-gon was heartened to see his boys in top form against Papua New Guinea.
“I want to thank the players for delivering a quality game. They made the spectators happy. The boys put in a lot of effort. We, the coaches, pressured them but they coped.
“We have improved a lot. Game by game, I can see there is no fear and the players are more confident.
“If players have too much pressure, it will be difficult to perform. Like in the second half, where they scored nine goals, I can’t teach them that. It came naturally to them.
‘’They try to understand our module and tactical approach, and we give lots of information. These boys are smart. I am proud of them.”
But Pan-gon wants the same performance to be replicated against the stronger teams, especially in the upcoming internationals against higher-ranked sides.
“We want to play against strong teams. This is our target. As a national team, we have a limit. We can only play two games in September and another two in October and in November, there is World Cup qualification. We will do lots of experiments during these stages.
“We want to see how we can approach the Asian Cup. If we are looking at long-term development, we want to be consistent with our football .. whether big or small teams, we want to attack and continue playing this way.
“We have another three months to see the league matches and try to find more quality players for the national team.’’
