Facing stronger opponents key to Harimau Malaya's growth
Harimau Malaya must challenge higher-ranked teams to soar
The national team is hoped to face higher-ranked opponents in future friendly matches. Photo: Facebook
SHAH ALAM – National football legend Datuk Zainal Abidin Hassan believes Harimau Malaya must continue playing friendly matches against higher-ranked teams to elevate their quality of play and build match maturity.
He stressed that facing more challenging opponents gives Malaysian players vital exposure and rhythm. The national team is hoped to face higher-ranked opponents in future friendly matches. Photo: Facebook
Referring to the May 29 friendly against Cape Verde, Zainal said the match, which ended in a draw, was a turning point that helped the team strengthen their game and address weaknesses.
'For me, it was a good start when we played against Cape Verde. I was there at the stadium and I saw a high-quality level of football and this had some impact when we played against Vietnam,' he said.
Although Harimau Malaya lost the second match against Cape Verde behind closed doors, Zainal believes the lessons learned were crucial, as evidenced by their dominant win against Vietnam in the World Cup Qualifier at Bukit Jalil just days later.
'So with more matches like these, because I have lived through those eras where I played against the best teams. Even though we lost three or four times, that is where we learned and improved,' he said.
Zainal also encouraged the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) to plan more friendlies against top-tier teams to give Harimau Malaya high-quality exposure.
'With the national team now at a certain level that we can be proud of, I think we need to look forward to playing against teams like Korea, Japan or teams from the Middle East.
'That is where we will push forward to reach the level we aspire to. The journey is still long, so this is the beginning and we must keep moving forward," he added.
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