PETALING JAYA: Kim Pangong, the national team coach, has regrets about the opening game, which they lost 4-0 to Jordan, who is ranked 87th in the world, in the first match of Group E of the Asian Cup finals held in Doha, Qatar. do not have.
Jordan was considered the least strong of Malaysia’s three Group E opponents, but they exposed the huge difference in standards between Malaysia and the Middle Eastern teams at Al Janoub Stadium on Monday.
Malaysia, who are ranked 130th and the lowest in Group E, were already in big trouble as Jordan increased their lead to 2-0 in just 20 minutes, but if Pangong had opted for the final. There is widespread speculation that he could have saved the national team from further humiliation. defensive approach.
However, the South Korean coach said the “park the bus” approach has not helped the team’s growth, which has really started to show improvement over the past two years by adopting high-intensity game patterns.
“(During the game against Jordan) we can make some negative plays… We can play more defensively by not putting pressure up top and instead waiting down below.
“But that doesn’t help the future of the team. So we keep doing what the team has been doing for the last two years and that’s what we’re keeping,” he said.
Pangong are expected to maintain the same style of play when they take on Bahrain in the decisive second group match this Saturday at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium.
Bahrain, ranked 86th in the world, is also aiming for its first win after losing 3-1 to South Korea.
“For me, this (loss against Jordan) is a useful lesson for us and good for us to prepare for the subsequent World Cup qualifiers.
“This is a useful lesson. We’ll fix the weakness in the second action later.”
The national team must win the second match against Bahrain to maintain its hopes of advancing to the knockout stage (last 16).
Coach Pangong added that he wants his players to perform like they did in the second half against Jordan, which was a much better game than the first half.
“Even if we conceded a goal, the action in the second half was a better performance and that’s how we played.
“Jordan started the first half perfectly, but then he was back to normal.
“We want to correct our mistakes and perform better in the next match,” he said.
Following the game against Bahrain, the national team will face its toughest test on January 25 against 23rd-ranked South Korea, led by Tottenham star Son Heung-min.