2-2 draw with Syria, a positive start for Harimau Malaya - Pan Gon

KUALA LUMPUR: National football team coach Kim Pan Gon described the national team's success in extracting a 2-2 draw from the world's top 100 team, Syria, in a friendly match as a positive start before heading into the 2023 Asian Cup campaign.

Pan Gon said he was very satisfied with the fighting spirit displayed by Harimau Malaya players against the 91st ranked team in the world in a match held behind closed doors at Grand Hamad Stadium in Doha, Qatar early this morning.

"It's a good start, we are able to compete with the team ranked 91st in the world. I am very happy with the performance of the players, especially in the first half.

"Down with two goals in the second half we manage to comeback and finish the game 2-2," he said through a video shared by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) today.

The coach from South Korea said his men deserve praise considering the national squad has only been training without any competitive action for the past month.

"Since we started the training camp at the end of December, we have not had an official match to test the players.

"This is our first match and I think it's very good. For me this match is a big morale booster before the start of the real campaign," he said.

The national team ranked 130th in the world started aggressively when they led Syria 1-0 through Arif Aiman Mohd Hanapi's goal in the 39th minute and the position remained until the end of the first half.

Continuing the second half, Syria, who were drawn in Group B, rose up to launch waves of attacks and they managed to net two goals through Pablo Sabbag in the 70th minute and Ibrahim Hesar four minutes later.

The national squad however, fought back before Pablo Josue scored the equaliser in the 78th minute and the result remained until the end of the match.

Malaysia, who ended their 42-year wait to qualify for the Asian Cup on merit, will begin their Group E campaign against Jordan on Jan 15, followed by Bahrain (Jan 20) and two-time champions South Korea on Jan 25.

-- BERNAMA