RGFC News

The Harimau Malaya squad will start their 2023 AFC Asian Cup campaign against Jordan tomorrow in the opening Group E match on the 15th of January at the Al Janoub Stadium, Al-Warkah, Qatar at 1:30am Tuesday (Malaysian time).

Four Selangor FC players, Brendan Gan, Khuzaimi Piee and Faisal Halim represent Malaysia, while Noor Al-Rawabdeh will be representing Jordan. These two countries will go against each other in Group E alongside Bahrain and South Korea.

Faisal Halim, winger, is optimistic with the Harimau Malaya's chances and is confident with the preparations that have been done so far, further adds that he believes this squad will be competitive enough in the 2023 Asian Cup.

"I'm sure all the players are excited for the 2023 Asian Cup which is also the biggest stage for the national team, not to play as second fiddle but to provide a high level of competition to other competing teams. Obviously, each team has made their own preparations but what will determine our fate is the 90 minutes on the field later.

"I don't think we need to worry about what's to come, but we have to focus on the action against Jordan tomorrow because this match will be a turning point for us. If we get a good result, it will definitely increase the team's morale for the upcoming matches," enthused Faisal during the interview.

For your information, Malaysia managed to be in the best five runners-up in the group with six points accumulated from the victory against Turkmenistan and Bangladesh last June thus qualifying for the final round of the 2023 Asian Cup and the Round 2 of the 2026 World Cup / 2027 Asian Cup Qualifiers with 35 other countries.

For the other Group E matches, Malaysia will meet Bahrain at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium on Saturday, 20th of January 2024, at 10:30pm (Malaysian time) and Korea Republic at the Al Janoub Stadium on Thursday, 25th of January 2024, at 7:30pm (Malaysian time).

The top two teams of each group of 12 teams (Champions and Runners-up of groups A, B, C, D, E and F) along with the four third place teams of the best group will qualify for the Round of 16 held on 28th, 29th, 30th and 31st of January 2024.

Next, the Quarter Finals will take place on the 2nd and 3rd of February 2024, the Semi Finals on the 6th and 7th of February 2024 while the Final is on Saturday, the 10th of February 2024 at the Lusail Stadium.

Selangor FC wishes success for Harimau Malaya squad in the 2023 Asian Cup. Make Malaysia proud!

Demi Kebanggaan!

[Credit: Photo by FA Malaysia]