Two familiar foes of southeast Asian football – Malaysia Under-23 and Singapore U-23 – will lock horns against each other in the first semifinal of the Bangabandhu Gold Cup at Sylhet District Stadium today at 5pm.
Although the coaching staff and players of the two sides seemed to be in a cheerful mood in the pre-match press conference in Sylhet yesterday, both the camps vowed to give their best effort and seal a final berth in the third edition of the international competition.
Whilst Malaysia are the favourites for the title, Singapore counted on their luck to reach the last four. Malaysia won both their group stage matches, against hosts Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, while Singapore progressed to the semifinals without winning a single match.
In addition, the recent head-to-head record between the two sides gives Malaysia the edge over their opposition. In their last six meetings, Malaysia won three times and drew twice.
The very last encounter, however, resulted in a 2-1 win for Singapore in the 2013 Southeast Asian Games.
Nonetheless, Malaysia head coach Mohamed Ismail Razip showed kindness towards his opponents and expected a tough challenge today.
“We are not taking our opponents lightly. We respect them because Singapore are familiar with our game. We are very close to each other, we understand their players and we understand their game. I think it is going to be difficult for both teams also. I hope we can produce a good performance and enter the final,” Ismail told the media yesterday, hinting that he will deploy a 4-2-3-1 formation.
Malaysia are the only side in the six-nation tournament who played all their matches in Sylhet and enjoyed more rest days than their opposition. Ismail though guarded against complacency.
“I’m worried we may lose our momentum of the winning combination. Because, we played two games and no game in four days and it may affect our performance.”
Singapore, meanwhile, almost booked their ticket home but were later saved by two second-half goals scored by Thailand against Bahrain last Tuesday. Head coach Richard Bok, therefore, is looking to make the most of their luck.
“We are just one step away from semifinals and that’s quite a motivation for the players. It’s been quite long since an age-level team reached the final. I think the boys know that it’s a big match. Malaysia are one of the title favourites. I just want my players to go there, give their best and compete with the best team. They know that they are here to be included in the final squad for the AFC U-23 Championship,” said Bok.
Bok added that his main objective in the tournament has already been achieved.
“I think I achieved my target. The objective for this team here is to compete and for me to select 10 or 12 players in March for the Olympics.”
