An opinion has been raised in Malaysia that better A-match opponents should be found to support the Malaysian national soccer team led by Kim Pan-gon.

According to the Malaysian media <The Straits Times>, former coach Ong Kim Swee, who is known as a prominent soccer figure in Malaysia, such as winning the 2011 SEA Games as the head coach of Malaysia in the past, said through an interview that Malaysia ahead of the 2023 AFC Qatar Asian Cup finals. He insisted on having stronger sparring matches.메이저놀이터

Malaysia, coached by Kim, faces South Korea, Jordan and Bahrain in Group E of the 2023 AFC Qatar Asian Cup scheduled to kick off in January next year. Malaysia will face Solomon Islands on June 14 at the Sultan Mizan Jainal Abidin Stadium in Terengganu, and Yemen on the 20th at the same venue. The Solomon Islands are a team narrowly ahead of Malaysia in the FIFA rankings, while Yemen are below Malaysia. Both teams are somewhat inferior when compared to the teams in the Asian Cup finals.

Former coach Kim Swee said, “Having an A match is very important for the national soccer team. But meeting a good opponent is more important.” “The teams we meet in the Asian Cup finals are of different levels. “You have to find a team with equal or similar power.” He continued, “Solomon Islands are a team that plays a different style of football. We need to play more against Middle Eastern teams that play a similar football style (to the teams we meet in the Asian Cup).”

Former coach Kim Swee thinks Japan and Oman are ‘good sparring partners’ for the Asian Cup. It seems that Japan was targeting South Korea, and Oman was referring to Jordan and Bahrain. However, former coach Kim Swee said, “Top teams like Japan don’t play friendly matches against teams with lower FIFA rankings. Still, it would be good for us if we could find a team with similar power and style.”