The Malaysia Experiment - Middle East Endeavors

This month Harimau Malaya is heading to the Middle East to wrap up the year, playing away to Iraq and Lebanon. So far we've been exceeding expectations and sitting atop Group 4 of FIFA World Cup Qualifying Section Second Round. There are no easy matches but these two are definitely the toughest. I've penciled this international break out once the schedule was out and I hope to at least come away with 2 points.

First, we'll be traveling to Basra to face Iraq. We kickstarted this campaign with a memorable win against them at home. I'm sure the 'Usood Al-Rafidain' (Lions of Mesopotamia) are hungry for revenge! Let's pray that we can shut the mouth of this beast. We'll have to keep an eye on Ali Adnan on the right.

Well, we managed to shut them out but our strikers didn't register a shot on goal at all. :/ I can't complain as I was aiming to get a point and tonight's match was really poor on quality throughout. Now, time to turn the focus to Lebanon. They're sitting in second place with 10 points and Iraq and Singapore are only separated by goal difference with 8 points.

This is the second consecutive match that I've used the same starting eleven. If you've noticed, I've adapted a 4-1-4-1 DM Asymmetric AM (L) formation. Basically, it's to accommodate Mohd Firdaus Adbul Wahid (MR) on the right of midfield as he's not a winger, unlike Lee Jinxiang (AMR). Yes, all that talk and I've actually dropped him because this newgen has really good stats (3.5 stars)!

The halftime whistle blew and we were three-quarters complete with the target that I set out for the team. One more half and we would have survived this Middle East adventure with 2 valuable points! Muhd Syazwan Ismawi (DL) had a knock and Iskandar Baseri (DR) was playing poorly (6.4). I'm very worried they'd focus on the flanks and start attacking my fullbacks.

Then out of nowhere, we had a throw-in near the corner flag. Ali Taktouk (MR) tripped Ibrahim Ismail (MC) in the penalty box and the referee blew his whistle! It was their fourth yellow card, and more importantly, we have a chance to take the lead! Luqman Hussain (AML) stepped up and converted, sending Bashir Youssef (GK) the wrong way! Seems like the boys have other plans; they were definitely not playing for a point. I made a triple substitution on the hour mark so I have fresh legs to run around; Nor Azli Abdul Ghani (DL) for the injured Ismawi, Mohd Shahidan Johan (MC) for Hafiz Azman, and Jasni Abidin (ST) for Muhaimin Jamaludin.

It all started with Abdul Wahid running down the flank from his own half. His cross rebounded off Bilal Aziz Özer and ended up with Johan. He then passed it to Ibrahim Ismail (MC) who lobbed the ball into the space in front of Hussain. The left winger outran his defender and sent a ground pass that was too fast for anyone to react, leaving the ball to Abdul Wahid to break his international duck on only his second international appearance! 2-0 up and just 6 minutes left to play for. I'm beaming from ear to ear. :)

So we came home with a win and currently top our group with 16 points, 5 points clear of Iraq whose played an extra game. 2 more matches to finish the campaign and it's against Macau and Singapore so I don't really have much to worry about. :p

In other news, Abhishek Pannierselvam (DC), Haji Mohd Yusop (ST) and Jasni Abidin (ST) are attracting the interest of Paris Saint-Germain. Hopefully, we can finally have some Malaysian boys play for a major club in Europe! :)