Harimau Malaysia head coach Datuk Ong Kim Swee has admitted that the friendly match against Fiji on Sunday will be the toughest one yet in the national team’s Tour of Oceania.
He believes that Fiji, who are currently ranked 186th in the FIFA world rankings, will be up for the challenge because they are two months away from the Olympic Games in Rio, Brazil.
Fiji qualified for the Olympic Games after winning the OFC Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
“We know that Fiji will be taking part in the Olympic Games, Ong Kim Swee told Nadi Arena.
“This ensures that the match on Sunday will be tough because we will be playing against a team of a high level of preparation. We will face them at local time of two in the evening.
Ong Kim Swee hopes the timing of the match at the Charles Park Stadium will be changed.
They will have a discussion with the Fiji Football Association so that the kickoff time will be changed to a more appropriate time to accommodate the Muslim players that are fasting.
“We will meet the management today to finalize the time for the match on Sunday.
“I understand that the friendly was set at 2pm because it gets dark by 5.30pm.”
Malaysia lost the first match of the Tour of Oceania to Papua New Guinea 2-0, but bounced back to defeat New Caledonia 2-1 in the second match after being in a losing position.
Other posts by Prashant Kharbanda
