Defender with attacking flair: Sabah’s Daniel Ting (left) heading the ball during a Super League match against Kelantan on May 17. — Bernama
PETALING JAYA: Sabah stalwart Daniel Ting has given the Harimau Malaya some food for thought.
The 31-year-old reminded his national teammates that they would need to think of new tactics and tricks to break the resolve of Kyrgyzstan in their own den in the World Cup 2026-Asian Cup 2027 second-round qualifier in Bishkek on Thursday.
Malaysia will complete their fixtures against Taiwan in Bukit Jalil on June 11.
The Harimau Malaya have to win both matches in order to make the cut for the third round of the qualifiers.
The last time Malaysia faced Kyrgyzstan was last year when they beat them 4-3 in the earlier qualifying fixture in Bukit Jalil.
Daniel, however, knows the situation will be different this time.
The team have already lost six key players due to injuries while they have to face tricksters like Beknaz Almazbekov and Atay Dzhumashev, who are set to make their lives difficult.
The 31-year-old Daniel is ready to assume any role he is called upon to play although he is a solid leftback noted for his effective tackling and interceptions.
In fact, coach Kim Pan-gon has used him as a supersub when the former needed to bolster the attack.
And Daniel proved to be one of the best players in their recent closed-door friendly against Super League side Perak when he scored the lone goal in their 1-0 win at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on Thursday.
“Of course, the absence of Mickey (Faisal Halim) and Arif (Aiman Hanapi) would leave a void but the coach has selected other wingers who can deputise for them but we have new tactics for the next two matches,” said the Sabahan.
“If the coach gives me an attacking role, I know I’ll be capable of doing it because I have done it for Sabah in some matches and scored some goals too.
“The good thing about the squad is that different players with different styles can offer lots of options.
‘‘My duty is to help the team win whether I score, provide or just help out in the overall display.”
“It’s going to be a tough game for us but we choose to be positive.
‘‘We will have new tricks to face this strong team. We are in Bishkek to win.”
