KUALA LUMPUR: Having experience playing in the Malaysia League (M-League) is not enough, instead the National Under-23 players need to have sufficient game time to ensure the best performance at the 2024 Asian Under-23 Cup Qualifiers in Chonburi, Thailand in September.
National Under-23 head coach E. Elavarasan (pix) said the actual game time is very important in ensuring that the Harimau Muda squad can put up a tough fight in the group stage after being drawn in Group H with host Thailand, Bangladesh and the Philippines.
“The most important thing is game time because if the players are fielded for only 15 minutes in the league, coming here they have to play for 90 minutes, there is a world of difference. If a player chalks up a lot of playing time with his club, it means (he has) a lot of experience.
“The difference is not the quality, but the minutes played and the physical level because, if you watched the Vietnamese team, they were aggressive and solid due to their longer preparation time,” he said on the first day of the centralised training camp ahead of the 2024 Asian Under-23 Cup Qualifiers here today.
Elavarasan also described his current squad as the best, notably with the presence of overseas-based Luqman Hakim Shamsudin and Nooa Laine as well as the inclusion of nine players from the 2023 SEA Games squad who did not play in the AFF Under-23 Championship.
“We have a squad that we consider as strong for this qualifier… With the presence of Luqman and Nooa and players with Super League experience, it will only add to the team’s strength.
“In our group, there is an equal chance to at least reach the second round,” he said.
In the qualifying campaign, Malaysia will kick off their campaign against Bangladesh on Sept 6 before meeting the Philippines on Sept 9 and wrapping up their fixtures against the home team on Sept 12.
The champion of each group and the best four runners-up will qualify for the Finals in Qatar, which offers a slot in the 2024 Paris Olympics
Last week, Harimau Muda failed to meet the target of reaching the final of the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Under-23 Championship when they could only finish fourth. -Bernama
