Malaysia Under-22 team captain Mohd Faris Shah believes that his squad still has a lot to learn before making their mark in the upcoming SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur next year.
The national team lost their first game under the tutelage of Frank Bernhardt after going down 2-1 to 2015 SEA Games winners Thailand at the Hang Jebat Stadium last night. The German head coach lead his team to a 4-1 win over the Philippines Under-22 team in his first game in charge before battling out a 1-1 draw against the Nepalese national team. Malaysia defeated arch-rivals Singapore 3-0 in the first game of the Nations Cup on May 3.
Frank Bernhardt used the inaugural Nations Cup to test a number of players, such as Terengganu goalkeeper Amierul Hakimi Awang, Selangor striker Adam Nor Azlin and Kedah players Muhammad Ariff Farhan, Mohammad Farhan Roslan and Muhammad Syafiq Ahmad. Johor Darul Ta’azim (JDT) II defender Dominic Tan was left out of both games by the coach.
“We worked hard to give everything we had against Thailand, but they were just the better team. I also guess that luck was not on our side,” Faris Shah said as quoted by Berita Harian.
“However, we will learn from our mistakes in order not to repeat them at the SEA Games.”
The 29th SEA Games will take place from August 19 to 31 in Kuala Lumpur next year.
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