KUALA LUMPUR: The Harimau Malaya squad do not deserve to advance further in the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers if they fail to beat Taiwan in Taipei next Tuesday (November 21), said the former's head coach Kim Pan Gon.
The South Korean coach said his team must fight for three points in their Group D second match of the 2026 World Cup/2027 Asian Cup Qualifiers campaign, although he admitted that away games are more difficult due to the different atmosphere and pressure.
However, according to him, the 4-3 victory over a higher-ranked Kyrgyzstan in the opening match at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil here last night (November 16) has provided them with the necessary motivation.
"We learned something ... we know what we have to do. If we do not do well, we do not deserve to go to the next round but we have a dream for that, to become top 18. We want to go to the World Cup third round.
"The next match against Taiwan is an away game that should be very tough. Hopefully, we can have good preparation the game. If we can't get three points, we don't deserve to go to the third round, so we must fight for it," he said during the Malaysia-Kyrgyzstan post-match press conference last night (November 16).
In the clash, Malaysia led early in the game but fell behind 1-3 before fighting back in style, with winger Mohamad Faisal Abdul Halim scoring the winning goal, defender Dion Cools scoring a brace through headers and winger Arif Aiman Mohd Hanapi assisting in all four goals including Kyrgyzstan's own goal.
Malaysia are ranked 137th in the world while Kyrgyzstan are 97th and Taiwan, 152nd.
When asked about his feelings as Malaysia were trailing 1-3, the 54-year-old coach said the situation was like a heart attack when his team fell behind after appearing more dominant and leading the game.
Pan Gon seemed disappointed with the match turnout as only about 17,000 came to watch the match.
"I appreciate those who came to the stadium, but we have a capacity of 80,000," he said.
After the away match with Taiwan next week, Malaysia will play world number 72 Oman twice - away on March 21 and at home on March 26 next year - followed by an away match against Kyrgyzstan (June 6) and finally at home against Taiwan (June 11) in Bukit Jalil. – Bernama