KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's Harimau Malaya team almost tore down the great wall of China when they tied with the 80th ranked team in the world 1-1 in a friendly match at the Phoenix Hill Stadium, Chengdu,
The decision saw Kim Pan Gon's squad maintain their record without losing in six international friendlies so far this year.
Harimau Malaya, who is ranked 136th in the world, created a surprise when they went ahead with Faisal Halim's goal in the 11th minute after he received Akhyar Rashid's pass.
It cannot be denied that China dominated the game, which saw Pan Gon's men forced to work hard, especially in defense following attacks linked to the flow of opposing troops trying to hunt for an equalizer.
After surviving for more than half an hour of play, Harimau Malaya's goal was finally penetrated by Lin Liangming's shot which the goalkeeper, Syihan Hazmi Mohamed, failed to save in the 36th minute.
Pan Gon then made several changes in the second half including bringing on the Malaysian League's Most Valuable Player (MVP), Arif Aiman Hanapi, Syahmi Safari and Junior Eldstal at the start of the second half in an attempt to improve Harimau Malaya's gameplay.
Fierce action continued to be displayed by both teams with Harimau Malaya also having several opportunities to score goals but they failed to convert into goals.
Unfortunately for China's Li Shuai, he was carried away by ambulance in the 83rd minute following a collision with Syahmi.
China made several dangerous attempts at the Malaysian goal at the end of the game, but still failed to add to the score and were forced to settle for a draw against a lower ranking team at home.
Overall, Harimau Malaya showed another successful positive performance before going to the 2023 Asian Cup next year after successfully holding the 94th ranked team in the world, Syria 2-2, last Wednesday.
The draw could be considered a surprise for Harimau Malaya because it is not easy to face China who has a higher ranking, let alone having to absorb the high pressure of acting in front of thousands of opposing fans.
Harimau Malaya's two positive results against teams ranked under 100 in the world in the latest friendly action can be considered a good sign for the challenge to the finals of the 2023 Asian Cup.
The Pan-gon team will continue the preparatory phase of the Asian Cup finals, with the Pestabola Merdeka competition scheduled to take place involving India, Palestine and Tajikistan at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium next October 13 to 17.
For the record, the Harimau Malaya squad will face three of the top 100 ranked teams in the world when drawn in Group E of the 2023 Asian Cup.
Malaysia was voted together with South Korea, which is currently ranked 27th in the world, Jordan (84) and Bahrain (85), which is scheduled to take place in Doha, Qatar from January 12 to February 10, 2024.
At Chengdu's Phoenix Hill Sports Park, when the DJ announced the 1:1 result of the friendly match between China and Malaysia, the fans booed and yelled, 'Refund!'. pic.twitter.com/IQOvirx0RF
— China Sports Vision 2050 (@CSV2050) September 9, 2023
