“We Have to Win. Nothing Else Works”: Malaysia’s Coach on the Japan Game
Malaysia won on Sunday. 3-0 against China, clean sheet, three points, home crowd happy. And their coach still wasn’t satisfied, because he can read a table.
Nor Saiful Zaini was blunt after the China game, in comments reported by SNE Sports. “Getting the three points is what matters. Our game was at least alright, but we missed a lot of chances,” he said. The finishing, he admitted, has been a problem for a while. “This is what we need to look at again. The problem actually already happened at the Asia Cup.”
Why a draw isn’t enough
Here’s the maths he’s worried about. Japan opened their tournament by beating Canada 8-1. Malaysia’s winning margin on Sunday was three. In a five-team league where the top two reach Saturday’s final, goal difference is the quiet tiebreaker that decides who watches the final and who plays in it.
Nor Saiful did the sums out loud. “If we draw or lose to Japan, we won’t make the final. We have to win,” he said. “Every player must understand that if we want to reach the final, we must beat Japan.”
He’s not talking Japan up for fun, either. He described them as a more mature, better-organised side than the one Malaysia saw at the Asia Cup, with a refreshed squad, and said his players will have to play smart, keep their shape and protect the defensive spaces, while getting more bodies into Japan’s box at the other end.
Tuesday in Johor
Japan v Malaysia is on Tuesday 20 October at 4:35 pm PKT at Taman Daya, after Canada v China at 2:05 pm PKT. Both sides have three points from one game. The winner joins Pakistan on six and takes a huge step towards the final. The loser is suddenly chasing, with Pakistan still to play.
Pakistan don’t play Tuesday, so all eyes in Johor, ours included, are on the hosts. A coach telling his own players, in public, that a draw is the same as a defeat tends to make for a very good hockey match.
