DOHA: The last-minute loss to Bahrain in the 2023 Asian Cup has a major impact on the Harimau Malaya squad, with sensational winger Mohamad Faisal Abdul Halim finding it especially difficult to get over it.
Mohamad Faisal said that if he had seized an opportunity to score in the first half of the Group E match at Stadium Jassim Bin Hamad, the outcome could have been different.
“I want to score in every match. Against Bahrain, I was presented with a scoring opportunity but felt that Paulo (Josue) was in a better position (to score). But on reviewing the match recording, I realised I should have attempted it myself.
“But the situation on the field was different from viewing it on television. Regrets there are but I feel the decision to pass the ball to Paulo was the best choice at that moment,” he said when met at the team hotel here yesterday.
The 26-year-old Selangor FC player said this when asked whether he hopes to score against two-time champions South Korea in their final group match at Stadium Al Janoub here on Thursday.
Mohamad Faisal, who was in the first eleven in Malaysia’s first two matches, said the players were sad and disappointed over the loss to Bahrain, who scored the winner at the end of second-half injury time.
However, he said the players remain upbeat about facing South Korea although on paper the Taegeuk Warriors are the favourites to walk away with three points.
“This won’t be an easy match. We will be up against a team that has played in the World Cup. On paper, defeat seems a certainty for us but as players, who wants to lose?” he said.
This will be the second encounter between Malaysia and South Korea in the group stage of the Asian Cup, with the two teams drawing 1-1 in the 1980 edition in Kuwait. Former striker Zulkifli Hamzah scored the equaliser for Malaysia then.
The last time the two countries met in a competitive match was in a World Cup qualifying round, which saw Malaysia losing 0-3 in 1989. – BERNAMA
