KUALA LUMPUR: National football team head coach Pau Marti Vicente has admitted that New Zealand ranks among the toughest opponents Malaysia has faced following their 0-4 defeat in a Tier 1 international friendly at the North Harbour Stadium in Auckland, today.
While expressing his regret to the fans including those who travelled to Auckland, the Spaniard acknowledged the strength of Darren Bazeley’s side ranked 95th in the world.
“First I am sorry to the fans who support us, who watched from Malaysia and also who came to support us, they want to see their team win and perform and I think today we couldn’t deliver a good result for them.
“Maybe this is one of the stronger teams that we have faced (since taking charge), so I think for our players it was a good learning experience,” he said in a video clip shared by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) after the friendly match.
Despite the heavy loss, Vicente highlighted the positives, particularly the team’s performance in the first half where they managed to hold their opponents to a 0-0 draw.
However, Vicente attributed the four goals Malaysia conceded in the second half to errors during transitions rather than defensive play.
“In the first half, we faced a lot of pressure, but we stayed strong and kept believing. I think we faltered a bit in transition, but we went into halftime level at 0-0. In the second half, we conceded those goals more in the transition phase than in the defensive phase.
“But I can’t complain about the players’ efforts. Everything was positive. We came here to train together and to face strong opposition. Sometimes it’s difficult to play against teams like this, but for us, it was a challenge, and I believe we will learn from it,” said the 41-year-old coach.
In today’s clash, which marked the first meeting between the two teams in 18 years, New Zealand’s four goals came in the second half through Elijah Just in the 53rd minute (min), Matthew Garbett (61st min), Chris Wood (72nd min), and Logan Rogerson in the 90th minute.
This is Malaysia’s first defeat after four competitive matches under Vicente’s charge since he took over as head coach of the Harimau Malaya squad following the sudden resignation of Kim Pan Gon in July.
Last month, Vicente guided Malaysia to victory in the 2024 Merdeka Tournament held here.
