Despite a four-goal defeat against Jordan, which he pledged to win, Malaysia’s national soccer coach Kim Pan-gon does not give up his soccer philosophy. In the upcoming match against Bahrain, he vowed to play soccer to lead the game by lifting the line and high pressing.
Malaysia, led by head coach Kim, lost 0-4 against Jordan in the first round of Group E at the 2023 AFC Qatar Asian Cup at Al-Zanub Stadium at 2:30 a.m. on the 16th (Korea Standard Time). Malaysia was shocked by an unexpected big defeat in this tournament, targeting Jordan as a one-win sacrifice among South Korea, Bahrain and Jordan that will meet in Group E.
At a press conference ahead of the match, Kim expressed confidence, saying, “We can compete at the same level as Jordan.” In fact, he reflected such judgment in his strategy. At the match against Jordan, Malaysia tried to elevate its defense to near the halfway line and dominate the match. However, it collapsed too easily when Jordan persistently targeted the space between Malaysia’s three-back and full-back by using fast-footed strikers such as Musa Al-Tamari. Kim apologized to his Malaysian fans for the crushing defeat during the press conference after the match.
However, even though he apologized for the result, he made it clear that he had no intention of breaking his soccer philosophy. According to Malaysian media outlet The Star, Kim said, “I was able to play passively against Jordan. I was able to play defensively while waiting underneath without hanging high-pressing,” before saying, “But that doesn’t help the team’s future. We’re trying to maintain the football that we’ve been playing for the past two years.”
“The defeat against Jordan will be a useful lesson for us and for me. Especially when we prepare for the 2026 FIFA North and Central American World Cup qualification. I will take it as a lesson and correct the problems,” he said. “If you look at the second half of the match, although we conceded more goals, we played better than the first half. Jordan showed perfect performance in the first half but then returned to its original form. I will correct my mistakes and show better performance in the next match.” 헤라카지노주소
Sticking to Kim’s philosophy is by no means an easy decision in view of the manager’s life in which fate depends on the outcome of victory or defeat. It is all the more so when there is strong criticism after the defeat. However, Kim may have suffered a big defeat, but he is looking ahead to the future.
Meanwhile, Malaysia, led by head coach Kim, will play against Bahrain in the second round of Group E at 11:30 p.m. on the 20th (Korea Standard Time) at Jasim bin Hamad Stadium. Attention is focusing on whether Kim’s winning move, which declared “forward charge” against Bahrain, which is considered to be bigger than Jordan, will lead to Malaysia’s victory.