KUALA LUMPUR - Underdogs Timor-Leste are determined to avoid a heavy defeat against Malaysia when the two teams face off in the second Group A match of the 2024 ASEAN Cup at the National Stadium, Bukit Jalil, tomorrow night.
Head coach Simon Ellechette said his team just want to perform better and be more competitive compared to their 10-0 thrashing by Thailand in the opening match in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Sunday.
"If you play football, you always want to win but if we manage to secure a draw, that would be a very good result for us. The most important thing is that we want to be competitive. A draw is a positive outcome, a win is even better, but even if we lose, as long as we play better than in the last game, it will still be a step forward for us.
"Timor-Leste have never won a match in this competition, and we want to grow, improve, and make history. Of course, if we can earn a point in this tournament, it would be the best result for us, and we can use that to build for the future," he told the pre-match press conference ahead of tomorrow's clash here, today.
Commenting further, Ellechette said the team faced significant challenges leading up to the tournament including having to drop one of their best players due to a serious knee injury.
"We competed without proper preparation because two weeks before going to Vietnam, we didn’t have a training pitch. We had to train on the beach. Our overseas players arrived in Vietnam just two days before the game against Thailand and we only had two training sessions before that match.
"In the last training before the game, one of our best players suffered a knee injury and will be out for possibly a year. We also couldn’t have one of our best players who plays in the Indonesian league because the club didn’t give us permission," he said.
Meanwhile, Timor-Leste captain Joao Pedro said his team have already put the loss to Thailand behind them and have made thorough preparations to face the Harimau Malaya under Pau Marti Vicente's guidance.
However, the winger, who scored a hat-trick to help Timor-Leste defeat Mongolia 4-1 in the first leg of the 2027 Asian Cup qualification play-off match last September, admitted that Malaysia are a strong team with a lineup of quality players.
"I think we didn't expect to concede that amount of goals (against Thailand)...I think we have already moved on from that match and we already prepared for the next game but we still need to learn and fix all aspects from the previous match.
"A lot of players that have been called up in the Malaysian national team are good, but I don't think they only have one player to watch, I think all 11 players even the subs are good, they are good to watch," he said.
Timor-Leste guided by Simon Ellechette are currently ranked 196th in the world compared to Malaysia at 132nd.
Malaysia have won all seven matches against Timor-Leste, with the most recent victory being a 5-1 thrashing in the first round of the 2022 World Cup/2023 Asian Cup Qualifiers in June 2019. - BERNAMA