KUALA LUMPUR: As Malaysia face Vietnam in a World Cup qualifier in Hanoi on Thursday, Brendan Gan hopes that the national team, who were overhauled after last year’s AFF Cup, will bring about a new dawn.
The 31-year-old Brendan, who is of Malaysian-Australian heritage, however, admitted that the odds are not in Malaysia’s favour when it comes to facing World No. 99 Vietnam.
But the Perak midfielder is looking at the positives and has urged his compatriots to focus on Malaysia’s style of play.
“We have a different team now (compared to last year). The style is different, the players are more confident with the ball, they like to build up from the back,” he said yesterday.
“But it’s going to be a difficult game because Vietnam is a good side and have a good track record.
“We should not worry too much about Vietnam’s style. We should only be concerned about our own style. If we continue to prepare the way we are, we’ll be able to do the job.”
Brendan refuted talk that Harimau Malaya may fall into complacency after the massive 6-0 win against Sri Lanka in an international friendly last Saturday at Bukit Jalil.
He said the match was a good “experimental 90 minutes” for the team and it has greatly boosted the confidence of the Malaysian players.
“However, we are not getting overly confident. We did well. We did what we wanted to do on the night.
“We tested a lot of new combinations and a lot of new players. I think the players on the team now are really good and they are the best in the country.
“We can only go into the game (against Vietnam) with what’s infront of us and that’s what coach Tan has prepared us for. Hopefully it’s enough on that day.”
On paper, the average age of the players in Group G sees Malaysia as third oldest at 25.57 after the inclusion of Selangor goalkeeper Khairulazhan Khalid (aged 29) and midfielder Abdul Halim Saari (24), Johor Darul Ta’zim’s Aidil Zafuan Radzak (32) and Sabah’s Azzizan Nordin (25).
Vietnam’s average age is 24.80.
Indonesia take the lead with 27.13, the United Arab Emirates at 26.04 and Thailand at 25.22.
Brendan stressed that age isn’t a factor in the team’s game as Harimau Malaya have created a cohesive environment under coach Tan Cheng Hoe.
“It’s a new era, a new time, a new team and we just got to stay confident, play our style and hopefully this will help us,” he said.