We know how to beat Harimau Malaya, says Kyrgyzstan head coach

PETALING JAYA: Kyrgyzstan has already figured out ways to overcome the away match pressure to get a positive result against Malaysia in the second round of the 2026 World Cup/ 2027 Asian Cup Qualifiers Group D opener at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil, tomorrow.

Kyrgyzstan Head Coach Stefan Tarkovic said he realises tomorrow's clash is an important match for both teams in the hunt for a place in the third round and Malaysia have the advantage of playing at home.

However, Tarkovic is optimistic that The White Falcons can emerge as the better side tomorrow if his players adapt quickly and give full focus to implementing the tactics of the game.

"This game is important for us and the Malaysian side, they are playing at home and the players will be playing in front of their fans and feel confident.

"We need to adapt for this and we need to bring our best performance, and if we do this I'm sure we can be a very good team for tomorrow's game," he told the pre-match press conference at Wisma FAM in Kelana Jaya here, today ahead of tomorrow's clash.

According to the 50-year-old Slovak, his team went through a rigorous preparation phase including adapting to the weather conditions in Malaysia since arriving last Thursday.

In the meantime, commenting on Malaysia, he believes the Harimau Malaya squad led by South Korean Kim Pan Gon are a good team and have shown positive improvement since last year.

"We scouted the Malaysia team in the last game and we scouted the players...of course we recognise the team's performance and the individual performances, we did analyse a lot," he said.

Meanwhile, defender Tamirlan Kozubaev, who played for PKNS FC from 2019-2020, said his teammates are mentally and physically ready for tomorrow's match.

"Tomorrow will be a tough game because the Malaysian squad has good quality players, but like our coach said we are fully prepared and hope it will be an interesting and good game," the 29-year-old player said.

Ahead of tomorrow's clash, the meeting record is in Kyrgyzstan's favor after winning 1-0 in an international friendly in Melaka in 2018.

After Kyrgyzstan's and an away match with Taiwan on Nov 21, Malaysia will play Oman twice, away on March 21, and at home on March 26 next year, followed by the away match against Kyrgyzstan (June 6) and finally at home against Taiwan (June 11) at Bukit Jalil.

-- BERNAMA