KUALA LUMPUR, June 12 — Harimau Malaya head coach Kim Pan Gon urged all parties to enhance efforts in preparing the national team to qualify for the 2027 Asian Cup, following their setback in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
The South Korean said he understands the regulations for releasing players for international duty, which means he cannot force clubs to release their players outside of Fifa international match calendars.
However, the former Korea Football Association technical director said South Korea were once on the brink of failing to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, but the extra effort eventually paid off.
“I think we need to put in extra work and support. I know it’s clearly a Fifa period, we can’t make demands, but even the Korean national team in crucial moments went to the 2018 World Cup final stage when we almost didn’t make it. In the home game against Iran and away game against Uzbekistan, that time, we gave extra effort.
“When thinking about the last game against Oman and this game against Taiwan, that’s why we asked for help. But I cannot complain because that is not the rule, and it is not their obligation,” he told a post-match press conference after Malaysia defeated Taiwan 3-1 in the Group D match of the 2026 World Cup/2027 Asian Cup qualifiers second round at the National Stadium, Bukit Jalil, here last night.
Pan Gon suggested a strategy be formulated for the 2027 Asian Cup, taking into account the participation of clubs in international tournaments to gather the best players and form an ideal squad.
He said Malaysia must improve its ranking to put itself in Pot One for the third round of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers, starting March next year, to avoid a more challenging path.
“If we are in the second pot, that’s very dangerous, so we must start discussing how we can improve our Fifa ranking. We need to gain more points to get into the top six and be in the first pot. Then, we improve all the players and seek support from the clubs as well.
“I can’t complain; clubs always sacrifice a lot to help the national team, which is why we are here. Otherwise, it would be very difficult. If we relied only on the Fifa period, I think Malaysia would be far behind, but going forward, we need to get more support from the clubs,” he said.
When asked if he would be discussing his proposal with the Football Association of Malaysia, Pan Gon said they often talk about it, but there are constraints.
“I think we do a lot of talking about this one, but sometimes reality hits. In the Malaysian situation, even I can see that it is quite tough, very tough, but I don’t know how to fix it because there are huge things to fix here. It cannot compare with Korea and Japan because they have a very good system.
“Now, I think we need to check and establish our system and produce young players — that’s most important; every year, we have to produce young talents,” said the 55-year-old coach.
At the end of Group D of the 2026 World Cup/2027 Asian Cup qualifiers second round, Oman and Kyrgyzstan entered the third round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers after emerging group champion and runner-up, respectively, each accumulating 13 and 11 points.
Malaysia finished third with 10 points, with Taiwan at the bottom with no points.
Failure to reach the third round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers saw Harimau Malaya having to go through the third round of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers in an attempt to make a second consecutive appearance in the competition.
— Bernama
