We'll bounce back from UAE trouncing - Luqman Hakim

KUALA LUMPUR: We are down, but not out. That's the fighting response from young striker Luqman Hakim following the Harimau Malaya's 4-0 loss to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Thursday.

While admitting that the mood in the national team camp is a bit gloomy after the heavy defeat, he expects the team to bounce back against Vietnam on June 11 and Thailand on June 15 in their remaining Group G second-round 2022 World Cup/2023 Asian Cup qualifying matches in Dubai.

The 19-year-old, who plays for Belgian professional club KV Kotrijk, has urged his teammates to take the UAE defeat as a useful lesson to rectify their weaknesses and raise their performance.

"The 4-0 defeat was bad, but we are more focused on moving forward and are determined to do better. No one is downcast or dispirited. I am confident we (the players) are on the right track to succeed.

"We will work on rectifying the mistakes we made against the UAE in the next six days. I have faith in every player in this team," he said at the virtual media conference from Dubai today.

Malaysia resumed their Group G qualifiers, which had been postponed since last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, by going down 4-0 to hosts the UAE at the Zabeel Stadium in Dubai on Thursday.

The Harimau Malaya, led by head coach Tan Cheng Hoe, are hoping top Group G and, thus, make history by earning automatic qualification to the Asian Cup Finals for the first time since the 1980 edition in Kuwait.

Meanwhile, Luqman Hakim, who is a product of the National Football Development Programme (NFDP), is determined to put to use everything he had learned in Belgium if fielded against Vietnam and Thailand.

"It (the decision) is up the coach. As a player, it is our duty to be 100 per cent ready. So, if given a chance, I will give more than 100 per cent, even 200 per cent... I will give it everything I've got. I am confident we have the strongest squad and can qualify for the Asian Cup Finals," he added.

In the match against the UAE, teenager made his first senior-level appearance in an international competition when he was brought on to replace winger Muhammad Safawi Rasid in the second-half.

Malaysia are currently in fourth spot in Group G with nine points, the same as second-placed UAE and third-placed Thailand, who both have superior goal difference. Vietnam lead the standings with 11 points while Indonesia are rooted to the bottom with one point.

-- BERNAMA