Malaysia had a quality friendly match before fighting Vietnam

According to Bernama, General Secretary of the Football Federation Malaysia (FAM), Stuart Ramalingam confirmed that he had reached an agreement with Bahrain on organizing a friendly match between the two teams on October 2. The match is expected to take place in the capital Manama in preparation for the second round of the 2022 World Cup.

"Recently, FAM and Bahrain FA have reached an agreement to host a friendly match on the opponent's field, but we have to wait for the agreement from the government first to fly there. Head coach Tan Cheng Hoe is expected to summon a number of players a week before they fly to Bahrain,” Stuart told Bernama.

Earlier, the friendly match between Malaysia and Bahrain was scheduled for March 21 but was canceled because the Bahraini government tightened the entry from countries affected by the Covid-19 epidemic, including Malaysia.

Bahrain is currently ranked 99th in the world according to FIFA rankings. In the 2022 World Cup qualifier, they surprised by defeating Iran 1-0 at home. After 5 matches, the team from West Asia is ranked 2nd in Group C with 9 points, 11 points behind Iraq's top team.

This is the much-awaited match for the Malaysian team. Players have been away for months due to the impact of the disease. Coach Tan Cheng Hoe needs the players to soon find their style before the important matches in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers in Asia start again.