Malaysia, Indonesia eye Asian Cup breakthroughs with foreign talent boost
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Malaysia coach Kim Pan-gon (in black) keeping a watchful eye as (from left) Mohamadou Sumareh, Dion Cools, Daniel Ting, Romel Morales, Paulo Josue and Shahrul Saad undergo a gym session.
PHOTO: FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION OF MALAYSIA/FACEBOOK
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SINGAPORE – Malaysia and Indonesia may appear unrecognisable to the average football fan when they open their Asian Cup campaign in Qatar on Jan 15.
In a bid to make breakthroughs, both teams have boosted their ranks with foreign-born talent.
In Malaysia’s 26-man squad, 14 are naturalised or heritage players, up from eight at the 2022 Asean Football Federation (AFF) Championship, while Indonesia have gone from three foreign-born players a year ago to eight.
Asean will be represented by four countries in Doha, the highest since the 2007 edition, which was a 16-team competition co-hosted by the same quartet.
Thailand and Vietnam, South-east Asia’s other representatives at this 24-team event, still comprise mainly local-born players.
Malaysia, who last qualified for the Asian Cup on merit in 1980, are hoping to make it out of the group stage for the first time in their fourth appearance. The world No. 130 side are in Group E, which also includes South Korea (23rd), Bahrain (86th) and Jordan (87th).
Malaysia’s recent additions include Brazil-born midfielders Paulo Josue, 34, and Endrick dos Santos, 28, both of whom received their first call-ups in March 2023.
Colombia-born striker Romel Morales, 26, became their latest naturalised player after receiving his passport in late 2023 and will be looking to make his mark in his maiden international tournament.
Coach Kim Pan-gon also has the services of Gambia-born forward Mohamadou Sumareh, who has been playing for Malaysia since 2018, and 10 heritage players, or those with ancestral links to the country, including centre-back Dion Cools, a former Belgian youth international.
They have posted creditable results recently, including a 4-3 win over Kyrgyzstan in a World Cup qualifier in November, with Cools netting a double. They also drew 2-2 with world No. 91 Syria in a friendly in Doha on Jan 9, when Josue bagged the equaliser.
Kim believes that result augurs well ahead of their Jan 15 opener against Jordan. The South Korean told New Straits Times: “The draw shows we can compete against some of the top teams in Asia.”
His compatriot Shin Tae-yong, who coaches Indonesia, is also hoping to make history by leading his team into the last 16 for the first time in five appearances.
His contingent of foreign-born players include Wolverhampton Wanderers defender Justin Hubner, former Swansea centre-back Jordi Amat and Dutch-born midfielder Marc Klok.
In a Jan 9 friendly, they lost 5-0 to world No. 21 Iran, prompting Shin, who coached South Korea at the 2018 World Cup, to urge his players to shape up when the world No. 146 side open their Group D campaign against 63rd-ranked Iraq on Jan 15.
Japan (17th) and Vietnam (94th), the other Group D teams, meet on Jan 14, with former Samurai Blue boss Philippe Troussier having his work cut out as coach of the two-time AFF Championship winners.
Injuries have ruled out his key players such as goalkeeper Dang Van Lam, defenders Que Ngoc Hai and Bui Tien Dung, midfielder Nguyen Hoang Duc and striker Nguyen Tien Linh, making it tough for Troussier to emulate his predecessor Park Hang-seo, who took Vietnam to the quarter-finals in 2019.
“Many people wished that Philippe Troussier would quit, many don’t believe in the team,” the 68-year-old, who led Japan to the last 16 of the 2002 World Cup, said recently. “But that only makes us stronger. I believe in the players, and they support me. Together, we will achieve the best result possible.”
Like Vietnam, Thailand have also been hit by injuries, which has sidelined talisman Chanathip Songkrasin and veteran striker Teerasil Dangda.
They will also be without key midfielder Ekanit Panya, who has drawn criticism for withdrawing from the squad as he hopes to impress Urawa Reds’ new coach Per-Mathias Hogmo in pre-season training.
Thailand coach Masatada Ishii, who was appointed only in November, has urged the rest to step up, adding that their goal is to “advance as far as possible”.
He can still rely on the likes of Hokkaido Sapporo forward Supachok Sarachat, OH Leuven striker Suphanat Mueanta and former Norway youth defender Nicholas Mickelson.
The 113rd-ranked Thais, who reached the round of 16 in 2019, open their Group F campaign against Kyrgyzstan (98th) on Jan 16, before meeting Oman (74th) and Saudi Arabia (56th).
Former Malaysia youth coach Bojan Hodak believes there is a realistic chance of South-east Asian sides reaching the last 16 again. The four best third-placed teams will advance along with the top two teams from each of the six groups.
“My advice for these teams is not to set unrealistic expectations... reaching the last 16 would be a fantastic achievement,” Hodak, currently coach of Indonesian club Persib Bandung, told NST.
