KUALA LUMPUR: Harimau Malaya fly to Bishkek tomorrow, perhaps feeling a bit low in spirit due to an injury crisis in the national football team.
But former international Stanley Bernard said the national team can still surprise Kyrgyzstan in a crucial World Cup qualifier on Thursday.
He urged Harimau Malaya to summon the spirit of 2010, which saw the depleted national team beat the odds to win the AFF Cup, and earned recognition as the best team in Southeast Asia.
Stanley, who admitted he wasn't good enough to make the 2010 squad then, recalled how the national side, under coach Datuk K. Rajagobal, rose to the challenge despite the adversities.
And he feels that Kyrgyzstan are not too high a mountain for the Tigers.
The Malaysian team will travel to the Central Asian city with just 18 players following a spate of withdrawal by injured key players like goalkeeper Syihan Hazmi Mohamed, Faisal Halim, Akhyar Rashid, Romel Morales, Azam Azmi Murad, and Syafiq Ahmad.
Stanley said this has presented an opportunity for the fringe players to step up and prove themselves.
"Indeed, the door to the first 11 for them has never been wider.