Malaysia and Jordan will look for a promising start to the Asian Cup on Monday. Jordan has advanced to four of the previous five Asian Cups. Malaysia will play in their first major continental event since 2007.
Preview (Malaysia vs. Jordan)
South Korea is the overwhelming favorite to win the group. Malaysia will enter the competition as the underdog to advance from Group E. But since Bahrain is in the same group as these two countries, and three teams advance from four of the six groups, there’s a chance that both of these countries will end up in the knockout stages. The fact that Malaysia will play the lower-ranked countries before playing South Korea in their last group match gives them a small advantage. A pair of wins would ensure their spot in the round of 16. Even three or four points would offer them a remarkable opportunity to advance past the group stage.
Since 1980, the Malayan Tigers have not qualified for the Asian Cup. They did so automatically in 2007 as co-hosts. As a result, former Hong Kong manager Kim Pan-gon has solidified his status as a highly well-liked person in Malaysia. Yet, the 54-year-old may find things awkward when he plays his native nation on the last matchday. Since losing to Thailand 3-0 more than a year ago, only Tajikistan has defeated Malaysia. They will therefore have a sincere hope of catching Jordan off guard on Monday.
Naturally, the majority of their opponents have been far more skilled than Malaysians. According to FIFA’s world rankings, Jordan finished 43 spots ahead of their upcoming opponents in December, indicating that they should aim for a win in their first encounter. After all, since qualifying for the Asia Cup for the first time in 2004, Jordan has advanced to the knockout stages three times, even making it to the quarterfinals in both 2004 and 2011. Even though the latter will be challenging given their current state, they should be able to repeat the former.
Team News
Except Dion Cools, who plays for Buriram United in Thailand, and Junior Eldstal of Dewa United in Indonesia, every member of the Malaysian team is a member of their respective domestic league. Given that they have all scored more than ten goals for their nation, Faisal Halim, Safawi Rasid, and Akhyar Rashid may start as a front three on Monday. Jordan, on the other hand, will probably rely primarily on their all-time top scorer, Hamza Al-Dardour; the 32-year-old has 35 goals in 121 appearances for his nation.
But they also have Yazan Al-Namat and Musa Al-Taamari, two more players who are rated in double figures. With three goals for Montpellier in Ligue 1 since joining them last summer, Al-Taamari is arguably Jordan’s most gifted player. Since it’s hard to forecast this match, we’re going with a draw. Given that losing on the first day of play would severely jeopardize both teams’ hopes of making it to the knockout stages, they will probably be desperate to avoid losing. As such, it may be a cynical interaction lacking in motivation and uniqueness.
Malaysia 1-1 Jordan
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