Harimau Malaya coach Peter Cklamovski remains optimistic about reaching the top 100, despite a 14-place FIFA ranking drop to 135th due to sanctions.
KUALA LUMPUR: National football head coach Peter Cklamovski insists his team’s long-term goal remains intact despite a severe blow to its FIFA world ranking.
Harimau Malaya plummeted 14 places to 135th in the latest rankings released by the International Federation of Association Football.
The dramatic fall is a direct result of heavy sanctions imposed over a document falsification issue involving seven ineligible heritage players.
FIFA annulled friendly match wins against Singapore and Palestine and a draw with Cape Verde from late last year, awarding 3-0 defeats instead.
The Asian Football Confederation then applied the same ruling to two 2027 Asian Cup Qualifiers against Vietnam and Nepal.
Those forfeits stripped the team of crucial ranking points and confirmed Malaysia’s failure to qualify for the 2027 Asian Cup.
Cklamovski described the off-field issues as a temporary “speed hump” in the team’s journey.
“Yeah, obviously in the last 12 months, you know, we’re moving in the right direction in that regard,” he said ahead of a qualifier against Vietnam.
He stressed that everything within the team’s control, including training, style of play, and analysis, is being managed well.
“Things off the field have affected us – that’s a bit of a speed hump – but I guess in every great story there are negatives and we’ve got to use it as that.”
The Australian coach, who took over in 2024, believes the effort to break into the world’s top 100 is still on track.
He identified time and a step-by-step approach as the key factors to realising that target.
