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Merdeka Cup: Davies warns of Lebanese players’ threat ahead of final | Scoop
National football team Harimau Malaya back in training before meeting Lebanon in the Merdeka Cup finals tomorrow. – FAM Facebook pic, September 7, 2024
Sports

Merdeka Cup: Davies warns of Lebanese players’ threat ahead of final

Malaysia advanced into the finals after defeating the Philippines 2-1, while Lebanon defeated the defending champions Tajikistan 1-0 on Wednesday

Main Author Image
Adam Zamri
Updated
10:00 AM MYT

 

KUALA LUMPUR – Harimau Malaya defender Matthew Davies is aware of the threat posed by Lebanon, despite the Middle Eastern team making their debut in the Merdeka Cup final at the Bukit Jalil Stadium tomorrow.

On paper, Lebanon has various advantages, as they not only hold a better world ranking than Malaysia, which is at 116th compared to Malaysia’s 134th, but their players are also physically larger and more robust.

Furthermore, many of the Lebanese players selected by their coach, Miodrag Radulovic, are playing in foreign leagues.

For instance, striker Omar Bugiel is plying his trade with AFC Wimbledon in England’s League Two, and Parvizdzhon Umarbaev plays for Bulgaria’s CSKA 1948 Sofia.

At the same time, winger Rabih Ataya, currently with Nejmeh SC, previously played for UiTM and Kedah in the 2020 and 2021 seasons.

In terms of past encounters, the two meetings in 2018 during the Asian Cup qualifiers saw the national team lose 2-1 in both matches, both at Bukit Jalil and in Beirut.

However, Matthew feels that tomorrow’s final will be different, given that the Harimau Malaya players will not be meeting the same lineup of Lebanon players as previously.

“It’s been a while, but I think this is the typical Middle Eastern team that is very physical, probably better than us, very organised, and difficult to break down, so we are expecting a tough match.

“But you know, we are spending two days preparing for that, and hopefully, we can give them a good game.

“We haven’t been together for long, especially with the changes in our defensive lineup, but we are working on it and want to be more solid and compact, maybe a bit more balanced compared to under coach Kim Pan Gon,” said Matthew to the media during yesterday’s training session.

Malaysia booked their place in the final after defeating the Philippines 2-1, while Lebanon, making their debut in the tournament, defeated the defending champions Tajikistan 1-0 on Wednesday.

At the same time, Matthew expressed concern over the loss of midfielder Afiq Fazail, who suffered an injury in the recent match against the Philippines.

“I think it’s disappointing because Afiq is a great player, but I was also impressed with Noa Laine stepping up in that difficult game; he handled himself very well.

“I think he is a natural replacement, but of course, we are disappointed to lose Afiq. However, we should be able to adapt and play our game,” he added. – September 7, 2024

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