THE national futsal team seeks a winning start in their Group G campaign for the 2026 Asian Football Confederation Futsal Asian Cup qualifiers tomorrow.
Head coach Rakphol Sainetngam described their opening match against the United Arab Emirates as decisive for reaching the final rounds.
“I’m confident tomorrow will be a very good match,” he said at a press conference in a hotel here today.
Rakphol noted the encounter should prove intense since both teams understand each other’s playing styles well.
“For us, it’s like playing in the final, so we must give our best,” he added.
The Thai coach expressed satisfaction with team preparations while acknowledging further improvements remain necessary.
He emphasised this tournament represents his final step with the team after two years together.
“We performed well but did not achieve the success we wanted,” Rakphol stated.
He identified qualification for next year’s finals in Indonesia as their ultimate objective.
Malaysia faces Bangladesh on September 22 and Iran on September 24 following their UAE opener.
The eight group winners and seven best runners-up will join hosts Indonesia in January’s finals.
National player Khairul Effendy Bahrin confirmed all players remain in good shape and ready to leverage home ground advantage.
“The most important thing is that we are playing on home ground,” he said.
Khairul Effendy acknowledged pressure exists but urged teammates to treat it like a club match.
“Everyone must give 100 per cent tomorrow,” he emphasised.
He thanked the coach for placing trust in him and vowed to ensure teammates face upcoming challenges prepared.
“Tomorrow’s match is 50-50,” Khairul Effendy observed.
He noted that whichever team makes more mistakes will likely lose the encounter.
“If we can defeat the UAE, that will be the right step in our quest to reach the final rounds,” he added.
Khairul Effendy admitted topping Group G presents extreme difficulty given world number five Iran’s presence.
“We will focus on the UAE first, then Bangladesh and finally, Iran,” he explained.
He promised the team would make life difficult for every opponent despite the tough competition.
“We will give our all in every match,” Khairul Effendy concluded. – Bernama
