NANJING: National Under-23 coach, Ong Kim Swee has reminded his charges to be ready for an even bigger challenge after their friendly match against the Syrian Under-23 side which was slated to take place at the Jiangsu Training Stadium in Nanjing, China was cancelled earlier today due to bad weather.
The friendly was supposed to be the final warm up cum tune up match for Kim Swee to test his players before they begin their Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Under-23 Championship campaign against Iraq in Chiangsu on January 10 (next Wednesday).
However the match had to be shelved due to poor weather conditions with thick snow enveloping the stadium’s pitch, and Kim Swee expects more tough and unexpected situations to arise once the championship proper gets underway.
“Even though we are disappointed because this friendly match could not be played, it is something that is out of our control because of the uncertain weather conditions. It does affect our preparations because I wanted to use the match to assess the players. Thankfully though, the players have already been put to the test during the three friendly matches played when we were in South Korea for the second phase of centralised training, and I already know what I need to know about our team’s strengths and weaknesses.
“Our players must not just be physically prepared but mentally strong as well to face the bigger challenge of facing superior teams in the championship while playing in very cold weather conditions,” he said when met here earlier today.
The postponement of the friendly match due to bad weather has forced Kim Swee to only carry out normal training sessions in Kunshan.
Prior to this, the young national squad were in Mokpo, South Korea for two weeks undergoing the second phase of centralised training, and also playing a series of friendly matches which saw them draw 1-1 against Mokpo City FC, defeat Honam University 1-0 and held to another 1-1 draw by Jeonju Citizens FC.
However Kim Swee is thankful that all 23 of his players are injury-free, and he feels that the cold weather conditions which dips to -2 degrees Celsius in the evenings when matches are scheduled to be played should not be an excuse.
“Other teams taking part in this championship will also have to be content with such cold weather. There were teams that had to cancel their training sessions because of it, but we have to press on and remain focused with our preparations,” he said.
Apart from 2013 edition winners Iraq, Malaysia who will be making their first appearance in the championship will also have to face runners-up Saudi Arabia and Jordan in Group C.