DANIAL AMIER, WILKIN OPTIMIS HARIMAU MALAYA MAMPU SAINGI THAILAND

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 12 (Bernama) -- National team midfielder Muhammad Danial Amier Norhisham is confident that Malaysia can pose a tough challenge to defending champions Thailand in the third Group A match of the 2024 ASEAN Cup in Bangkok this Saturday.

Muhammad Danial, who is more fondly known as Daniel Amier, believes it is not impossible for the Harimau Malaya to pull off an upset, similar to how underdogs Timor-Leste nearly did when they narrowly lost 2-3 to Malaysia in their second group match at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil yesterday.

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However, the Kuching City FC player stressed that every player must be more aggressive and show a strong desire to secure victory.

"We know we will face a better team, but nothing is impossible in football, just like Timor-Leste showed. So, we have to give 100 percent in the match.

"We need to be more aggressive and eager to give our best for the national team. We must learn and improve on our weaknesses so we can play better," he told reporters after Malaysia's match against Timor-Leste at the National Stadium.

In yesterday’s tie, naturalised striker Paulo Josue emerged as the team’s hero, scoring two goals in the second half to turn the game around after Timor-Leste, ranked 196th in the world, led 2-1 at halftime.

Malaysia opened the scoring through Muhammad Syafiq Ahmad before Timor-Leste struck twice in quick succession near the end of the first half via Olagar Xavier and captain Joao Pedro during injury time.

Meanwhile, midfielder Stuart Wilkin said the Harimau Malaya have only one mission in Bangkok - to bring home a positive result.

"I think it's to go there and get a positive result. We know it's never an easy place to play, so a positive result—a draw or a win—is what we are going for, but we know it's not going to be easy.

"It's going to be a very difficult game. We know Thailand is extremely strong, so we’ll review the footage from today’s (last night’s) match and identify areas to improve. We definitely have a game plan going there," said the Sabah FC player.

Malaysia, the 2010 champions, currently top Group A with four points, one point ahead of Thailand and Singapore, who each have played one match and sit in second and third place, respectively. Cambodia are fourth with one point, while Timor-Leste is at the bottom with no points.

-- BERNAMA