HANOI: The Harimau Malaya squad will face an uphill battle to make it to the semifinal stage of the 2024 ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Cup after being placed together with defending champions Thailand during the draw ceremony held at Hanoi, Vietnam today.
Malaysia and Thailand are in Group A, along with four-time champions Singapore, Cambodia, and the winner of the qualifying round between Brunei and Timor-Leste, while 2022 AFF Cup runners-up Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Myanmar and Laos are in Group B.
“We face Thailand and Singapore our neighbour, Cambodia and the team from the qualification round. We try to get our main power to build (the) best team to fight in this Cup,” he said in a video shared by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) today, adding that he would ensure that the squad would have a strong line up for the Cup.
Defending champions Thailand, currently ranked 101st in the world, have been consistent in their performance lately, making it tough for the Harimau Malaya squad to top Group A, especially with the likely absence of key players from Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) and Selangor FC, whose clubs will be playing in the Elite Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League, scheduled from Nov 25 to Dec 5.
The 2024 AFF Cup will be held at nearly the same time, from Nov 23 to Dec 21. – Bernama
