Results crucial in selection of players - Cheng Hoe

With only 22 names from the existing squad and those who have been called before, Cheng Hoe hoped the two actions would further strengthen teamwork among them apart from assessing the performance of several new faces listed this time.

"If any coach is asked, they would want both (results and exposure) at the same time if possible. But these two matches are as exposure for new players while we want to ensure team cohesion and momentum is maintained.

"We have past experience that the squad after not playing together for more than a year ago, the lack of understanding among players is obvious," he said when met by reporters at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) here early this morning.

Malaysia who are ranked 154th in the world will be meeting Jordan (ranked 93rd) at King Abdullah II Stadium in Amman on Oct 6 and Uzbekistan (ranked 84th) at the International Stadium in Amman on Oct 9.

Cheng Hoe said he would trying out various combinations of players to form a more powerful team after the uninspiring outing of the national team in the second qualifying round of World Cup 2022 / Asian Cup 2023 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in June.

"We know this is the best time to test new players, including senior players (who were called) to form the team for the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Cup 2020 and the Asian Cup qualifying," he said.

Harimau Malaya will be competing in the AFF Cup 2020 scheduled in Singapore in December before continuing the mission to hunt for a slot in the Asian Cup 2023 in the third qualifying round next year.

Meanwhile, Cheng Hoe said the difference in list of players to Jordan compared to several past call-ups was not due to pressure from fans who wanted players who failed to perform to be dropped.

"The reshuffle is not due to the pressure as my priority is to create a large pool of players so that if players are injured or suspended, others are ready to step in," he said.

Based on records, Malaysia drew and lost twice in four encounters against Jordan with the latest squad of Cheng Hoe losing 0-1 in a tier 1 international friendly in August 2019, while Malaysia have not beaten Uzbekistan in six meetings.