2024 International Friendly Rival Watch: Malaysia

Blue Tigers are gearing up to face Harimau Malaya in an international friendly.

The Malaysia football team are set to be the final opponent for Manolo Marquez’s India in 2024. The two teams are poised to do battle on November 18 at the Gachibowli Stadium, Hyderabad and will look to end off the year on a high note.

This is the Blue Tigers’ final shot at winning a match in 2024, having failed to win a single competition international game this year. But the Malaysia side are no pushovers and will not roll over for them. The Harimaru Malaya are themselves very eager to win their first away match in 2024 and potentially repeat their heroics from the 2023 Merdeka Tournament.

Malaysia last met India in that competition last year, getting a rather controversial 4-2 win at their yard. They had an eventful 2023 AFC Asian Cup group stages campaign earlier this year and managed to hold South Korea to a draw. Since then, things have been a bit topsy-turvy for Harimau Malaya in international football.

Even though Malaysia are actually behind India in the FIFA World Rankings, they’ll be a challenging task for the Blue Tigers. Here is what can be expected from the Malaysian side.

About the Team

The Malaysia football team has been playing at the international level for over 60 years now, having played their first international match in 1963. Their ‘golden’ age can be traced back to the 1970s when they won a bronze medal in the 1974 Asian Games as well as two gold medals in the Southeast Asian Games in that decade.

The Harimau Malaya (Malayan Tiger) have made four appearances in the AFC Asian Cup and their debut was in the 1976 edition. They have never qualified for a FIFA World Cup edition, reaching the second round of qualifying a few times.

They have, however, won quite a few accolades in their history. The Malaysian team has won the Merdeka Tournament on eight occasions, as well as the Kings Cup four times. They bagged the gold medal in the AFF Championship (ASEAN Championship) in 2010 as well.

Skuad Harimau Malaya melakukan sesi recovery, hari ini selepas kemenangan 3-1 ke atas Laos pada Perlawanan Antarabangsa Tier 1 di Stadium PAT, Bangkok, Thailand, malam tadi.Seterusnya, aksi kedua menentang India di Hyderabad pada Isnin, 18 November 2024.#FAM #HarimauMalaya pic.twitter.com/aAHnp7GHZ5

— FA Malaysia (@FAM_Malaysia) November 15, 2024

Recent Performances

The Harimau Malaya have been riding on some impressive form over the last few months. Even though they lost their previous international friendly against New Zealand by a 4-0 margin, they picked up three successive wins in as many games before that.

The Malaysia side won the 2024 Merdeka Tournament, defeating the Philippines in the semi-final and Lebanon in the final. Before that, they picked up a 3-1 win over the Chinese Taipei side in the 2026 FIFA World Cup second-round qualifiers, even though it wasn’t enough to get them into the third round.

Keputusan Masa PenuhPerlawanan Antarabangsa Tier 1 | Khamis, 14 November 2024LAOS 🇱🇦 1-3 🇲🇾 MALAYSIA⚽️ Kydavone Souvanny 33'⚽️ Harith Haiqal Adam Afkar 6' Stuart Wilkin 64' (P) Sergio Aguero 83' (P) #FAM #HarimauMalaya pic.twitter.com/kAfmNkAsOB

— FA Malaysia (@FAM_Malaysia) November 14, 2024

The Coach

The Malaysia Football Federation appointed former Barcelona B assistant manager Pau Marti Vicente to take over their men’s national team in August 2024. He worked as an assistant manager for their former head coach Pan-gon Kim and was instilled into the job when the South Korean opted to depart his role.

Vicente gained his expertise working as an assistant manager to Garcia Pimenta in Barcelona B, where he worked with Barcelona players like Alejandro Balde and Inaki Pena. He has been associated with the Malaysia football team since 2021 and has created a nice bond with the players as well.

ALSO READ: How has Malaysian football team fared in 2024?

Along with his work as an assistant manager for Barcelona B and Barcelona U19, Vicente also worked as assistant manager at Adelaide United from 2013-2017. Since taking over the Malaysia head coach role, Vicente has only been able to manage them for three international matches.

To his credit, Malaysia have won two of those three matches and the loss came to a much stronger New Zealand side. Vicente likes to shape his side up in a 4-3-3 formation where there is a deep-lying defensive midfielder and two roaming number eights in a three-man midfield trio.

The Harimau Malaya have played some attractive attacking football under him, showing off impressive passing and being quick on the transitions. Vicente will be eager to prove that his tactics work in away games in the upcoming clash against India and put his expertise to outwit his fellow Spanish coach Manolo Marquez.

Players to Watch

Safawi Rasid

The 27-year-old right-winger can be a menace with his tricky work down the wide areas and has proven to be quite prolific in Vicente’s system. He scored in their win over the Philippines in the Merdeka Tournament and can cause damage to the Indian backline. Rasid has seven goals and two assists in 19 appearances for Terengganu FC this season, and is heading into this clash in impressive form.

The 27-year-old is blessed with a troublesome pace, which can cause real problems for the Indian backline. But he’ll look to bring his most clinical attributes to the fray in the upcoming international friendly to help Malaysia get another win over the Blue Tigers.

Darren Lok

Despite being born in England, Darren Lok has been able to secure Malaysian citizenship as he’s playing in their national division since 2016. The 33-year-old forward is an experienced customer who is well accustomed to playing with the Malaysian players and knows exactly how to thrive alongside them.

Lok has three goal contributions in eight appearances for Sabah FC this season, but he can be a bullish presence against the Indian side.

The 33-year-old will be eager to use his clever off-the-ball movement and run into empty spaces to drag open the Indian backline and create more room for his teammates. But the 33-year-old needs to start converting chances ruthlessly and scoring more goals for Malaysia to be in Vicente’s long-term plans.

What to Expect

Even though Malaysia are coming into this friendly at the back of a 4-0 loss, that doesn’t mean this will be a comfortable task for India. The Harimau Malaya will not be coming to Hyderabad to be okay with a point and will take the fight to India after seeing their shaky performances all year long.

Malaysia will look to control possession and trouble India with their crisp combination play as well as swift attacking moves. They should keep pushing for more and more goals, which means there should be quite a few chances for the Blue Tigers on counter-attacks.

After the drama that transpired in the game between Malaysia and India last year, this clash should be another eventful and feisty battle where both teams give it their all to get a big win and please their fans before the end of the year.

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