Back to the grind: Malaysian team captain Dion Cools at a recovery session after returning from Bishkek following the match against Kyrgyzstan. — FAM
PETALING JAYA: It takes a cool leader to motivate his teammates.
And national football team captain Dion Cools has done just that to fan the flames in his teammates’ to face Taiwan with boldness in the 2026 World Cup-2027 Asian Cup qualifiers at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on Tuesday.
Cools has urged the team to forget the draw against Kyrgyzstan and shift their focus to beating Taiwan by a big margin.
Malaysia rued the absence of key players Faisal Halim and Arif Aiman Hanapi as they settled for a 1-1 draw against Kyrgyzstan in Bishkek on Thursday to remain third in the standings.
They are three points behind their Central Asian opponents with Oman having confirmed qualification after a 3-0 win over Taiwan.
Harimau Malaya now need to beat Taiwan by a sizable margin while hoping that Oman defeat Kyrgyzstan to achieve miraculous qualification for the third round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers for the first time and secure an early ticket to the 2027 Asian Cup Finals.
The 28-year-old defensive player said they would have to change their mindset.
“I’ve told the boys that we need to change our mentality quickly for Tuesday’s final match to get the big win,” said Cools, who also hoped fellow Malaysian supporters will converge in Bukit Jalil.
“It’s our final group match but we hope it’s not the last in the World Cup qualifiers.
“At home, we have an advantage, it’s not easy for another team to come here to play us.
“Hopefully, we will get the best support to help us fight all the way,” he added.
He reminded his teammates to show the consistency they displayed in the first half of the 1-1 draw against Kyrgyzstan in Bishkek.
“I think we played well in the first half but a little less in the second half,” he said.
“We really wanted to win this game but a draw is deserved against Kyrgyzstan, who are ranked 100th in the world..
“It’s now clear what we have to do later, we have to win and score a lot of goals against Taiwan.”
For the record, Malaysia last defeated Taiwan 1-0 in Taipei last November but suffered a setback after they recorded two consecutive defeats at the hands of Oman in March.
