Speaking on the sidelines of the 2022 World Cup qualifying ceremony, Malaysia coach Tan Cheng Hoe and Indonesia coach prove confident with to the result of the draw for world cup 2022 qualifiers asian zone.
On the afternoon of July 17, the Asian Football Federation held a draw for the second round of the World Cup 2022. Notably, Vietnam was pooled in the same group with ASEAN teams including Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Coach Tan Cheng Hoe believes that falling into Group G is the most desirable result for Malaysia.
In response to Malaysian media, coach Tan Cheng Hoe shared: "This is the most favorable draw result, when no one thinks there are four teams Southeast Asia in Group G. The table is like ‘AFF Cup’. We were familiar with Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia. The UAE is of course the toughest opponent. I think Malaysia has a chance to go on. We were lucky with the draw and now it's time to show on the field. The teams in the table have the same opportunity".
Meanwhile, Indonesia coach Simon McMenemy was surprised to see 4 ASEAN giants in a same group
"It is interesting that Indonesia is in the same group alongside Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. The first match, we will meet our great rival Malaysia. Meeting up with 3 regional rivals in the World Cup Qualifiers is a crazy thing for any coach. It will be very interesting when the teams here have to fight for the ticket to go on, for the World Cup dream and for both honor and national pride”, said Indonesia NT's head coach.
"Being in the same group with all strong team is an extremely difficult challenge. The great thing here is that we all know our opponents very well. We hope to try our best to achieve the best results", said Simon McMenemy.
According to the schedule of the 2022 World Cup Qualifiers, Malaysia will meet with Indonesia on September 5 before Tan Cheng Hoe's army faces Vietnam at My Dinh stadium on October 10.
Indonesia will have a match against Park Hang-seo's men on October 15. This is the first time that the new coach Park has faced Indonesia since he took Vietnaam's reins. In the last 4 matches in the AFF Cup, Vietnam only won 1, drew 1 and lost 2 against Indonesia
Amelia London
