Bahrain ready for tough Malaysian challenge: Sousa
TDT | Manama
The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com
Bahrain’s senior men’s national football team are fully prepared to face what they expect to be an inspired Malaysia today in their second Group E match in AFC Asian Cup 2023 qualifying.
The tie is scheduled for a 4pm kick-off, Bahrain time, at Kuala Lumpur’s Bukit Jalil National Stadium.
Bahrain head coach Helio Sousa is prepared for a tough challenge ahead, particularly with the hosts playing in front of their home crowd, which Sousa says will give their opponents a major boost.
“All our preparations have gone well, we are ready,” Sousa said yesterday during his prematch Press conference. “It will be a tough game like the last one, with a strong team that is playing at home and are taking advantage of the fantastic atmosphere that the fans of Malaysia are putting on.
“We hope to find similar conditions—the kind of conditions that all players love to play in. “For sure it is going to be a fantastic game against a strong team.” Sousa underlined that the local fan support will act as an additional player for the Malaysians on the pitch.
“They are taking advantage of playing at home,” he said. “The environment in their first game was fantastic—the fans of Malaysia are like one more player for them. That helps and that boosts the team to be a little stronger than they are normally.”
Both Bahrain and Malaysia were victorious in their opening qualifiers last Wednesday, with the Bahrainis beating Bangladesh 2-0 and Malaysia outclassing Turkmenistan 3-1. The Malaysians are now atop the group table having scored more goals.
Sousa hopes that the Bahrainis make the most of their scoring opportunities in their next game, as they look to leapfrog their opponents on the standings.
“We always try to get the maximum from the game; when we score the first goal, we want to look for the second, and then look for the third, but it did not come against Bangladesh,” Sousa said.
“We weren’t efficient enough to do that. If we were, we would be first now in the group and not second. “It is one of the things we must improve—that the clear situations we get, we must conquer.
To be more efficient, more competent in that moment, and to put in the final score the difference that exists during the game.” Sousa noted that his team is focused on what they can control in the match, but added that they are also aware of the strengths of their rivals.
“I think this is one of the cases where the ranking of the team we are going to face does not correspond to the quality of the players and the quality as a team,” Sousa said.
“The team of Malaysia now is much stronger with good quality players. We are aware of that, and we are prepared the best we can to have the best conditions for winning the game. That is what we can control.” Meanwhile, star midfielder Komail Alaswad mirrored Sousa’s sentiments.
“We expect a strong game in front of a big crowd, and we are prepared very well and everyone is ready to get the three points and go to the top of the group,” Alaswad said during the conference. “We all want to give our best in this next game to help our team. We saw Malaysia in their first game—they have good players, a good group. We hope to see a full stadium for a nice atmosphere in the game.”
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