Rajagobal: Players should capitalise against Saudi Arabia

He said players given a chance to play in the match tomorrow should give their best as the match would be important to gauge their preparation ahead of the crucial Group D tie against Yemen in the 2015 Asian Cup Qualifiers at the same venue on March 22.

Malaysia lost their first Asian Cup qualifiers 0-2 against Qatar in the opening fixture at the Al-Sadd Stadium in Doha, on Feb 6.

"I don't want the players to take the match lightly as this is an important match for me to assess the performance of players ahead of our crucial game against Yemen.

"This match is also the best opportunity for my boys' to prove their mettle by playing against one of the strongest teams in Asia," he told reporters after a team manager's meeting at Wisma FAM, here, today.

Rajagobal said three players will not be available for tomorrow's match due to injuries, namely Wan Zack Haikal Wan Nor, Amiridzwan Taj Tajudin and Nik Mohd Shahrul Azim Abdul Halim.

"Wan Zack and Amiridzwan sustained injuries during centralised training here while Nik Mohd Shahrul suffered a bad ankle injury during an AFC Cup action with Kelantan recently and I have decided to send him home to avoid further injuries," he said.

Meanwhile, a representative of the Saudi Arabia Football Federation (SAFF) Khalied Al-Woeiser said the match was part of their preparation for their Group C match against Indonesia in the 2015 Asian Cup Qualifiers at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta, on March 23.

"We chose Malaysia for a friendly match since they have similarities in terms of weather with Indonesia and our coach (Juan Ramon Lopez Caro) will field his strongest line-up against Malaysia," he said.