The Malaysian team started their campaign in Group B of the ASEAN Cup 2026 with an important 2-1 victory at Myanmar's home ground. In the next match, Malaysia will meet Laos at home.
At the press conference before this match, Mr. Tan Cheng Hoe warned his students not to be subjective against the opponent. He said: "I think in football, just spirit is not enough. You need intelligence and dexterity to handle and control the match.
The experienced players really helped speed up the pace of the match and when we attacked, we were very effective in scoring goals. Malaysia overcame the initial difficulty against Myanmar, with captain Paulo Josue scoring two goals in the second half after Myat Kaung Khant put the home team ahead.
Laos lost to Thailand 0-5 in the opening match, but Mr. Tan Cheng Hoe still appeared cautious when talking about the opponent. He shared with Malaysian media: "We cannot underestimate Laos. They are a young team with a new coach - Vladica Grujic. They work hard, have motivation because they don't want to lose for the second consecutive match and they are very dangerous in counter-attacks.
We must ensure not to lose the ball unnecessarily in our own half and at the same time must finish accurately in front of the opponent's goal”.
Tan Cheng Hoe was an assistant to coach Rajagobal, and won the 2010 ASEAN Cup with the Malaysian national team. He also held the position of head coach, and helped his team reach the final of the 2018 tournament, but then the team lost to the Vietnamese national team with a score of 2-3.
According to this strategist, Harimau Malaya - the nickname of the Malaysian team - still has many points to improve. He said: "We have a good combination between experienced players and young players, but they have not played together much.
I am very happy that the experienced players really tried their best to guide the young players. Although we were a bit confused in the first half of the match against Myanmar, we rose up strongly in the second half. That spirit shows that we can play even better”.
The 2010 ASEAN Cup champions fielded 5 new players in the victory over Myanmar, including: Rodney Clevin Akwensivie, Alif Ahmad, G. Pavithran, Wan Kuzain Wan Kamal and Daryl Sham George - and Cheng Hoe called on fans to be patient with these new factors.
Striker Syafiq Ahmad also called on the whole team to maintain focus despite a favorable start. He shared: "We won three important points in the opening match, and I hope we can continue to maintain that in the upcoming matches.
The Malaysian team aims to go far in this tournament, but the most important thing is to focus on each match. Currently, we are completely focused on the match against Laos”.
Syafiq said veteran players have set standards for younger members of the team. He said: "People can see how Josue scored or how well Mohamadou Sumareh performed against Myanmar. When veteran players perform well, young players can follow suit. The important thing is that whenever given the opportunity, players must dedicate themselves to the team.
The Malaysia vs Laos match will take place at 8:00 PM on July 28. The head-to-head record between the two teams leans completely towards Malaysia, as they have won 15 out of 18 previous encounters with Laos, drawn 2 times and lost 1 time.
