Moving forward: Mixed-heritage players like Dion Cools and local boy Arif Aiman Hanapi have shown that Malaysia are on the right trajectory.
PETALING JAYA: After losing to Thailand 3-0 in the AFF Mitsubishi Cup second-leg semi-final on Jan 11, coach Kim Pan-gon took full responsibility.
He said his players fought like ‘dogs’ and should not be blamed. Instead, he made an impassioned plea and promised that his boys would bounce back after that setback to be a force in South-East Asia.
And the South Korean had held on to his word.
This year, in all competitions, Harimau Malaya have won nine games, drew twice and lost twice. And the best part, they held higher-ranked nations like Syria (2-2) and China (1-1) in the September international friendlies.
This has led Malaysia to their best-ever world ranking after 17 years.
They are currently ranked 130th in the world, which is a marked improved compared to 2022 when they ended the year at 145th.
In the South-East Asian region, Malaysia are now the third best behind Vietnam (world No. 94) and Thailand (No. 113), which is a progress as they were behind the Philippines in the past, who are not a footballing nation.
And the man behind this progress is none other than Pan-gon who had planned well to compete in friendly matches and qualifiers.
Besides having a master tactician, the influx of mixed-heritage and naturalised players have helped steer the national team forward.
Dion Cools and Matthew Davies’ leadership at the back; Paulo Josue, Endrick dos Santos and Stuart Wilkin’s presence in midfield and Darren Lok’s industry and tenacity upfront have helped Malaysia win games.
Then there is the inspirational Brendan Gan with professionalism on and off the field.
The locals have further developed, thanks to the competition from mixed heritage and naturalised boys.
Wingers Arif Aiman Hanapi and Faisal Halim have been the stars of the national team this year and know they have to raise their levels and show that locals can be world-beaters too.
Both Arif and Faisal have had starring roles for Malaysia this year, and their energetic performances were also felt in the Malaysian League.
The fact that Pan-gon has blended these players well has shown that the national team are on the right trajectory.
They will head to the Asian Cup in Qatar next month with the hope of qualifying for the last 16 stage, but it will not be easy facing the likes of South Korea (world No. 23), Jordan (No. 87) and Bahrain (No. 86), all nations ranked higher than Malaysia.
Then there is the World Cup 2026 second-round qualifiers, where Pan-gon is hopeful that his boys can make it to the third round, which would be a first in the nation’s history.
With the team’s dogged determination, expect a stronger campaign from the Tigers in 2024.
