PETALING JAYA, Sept 22 (Bernama) -- Newly elected Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) president Datuk Ab Ghani Hassan believes it is entirely possible for Harimau Malaya to reach the 2026 FIFA ASEAN Cup final in Indonesia, which runs from Sept 25 to Oct 5.
Ab Ghani said the high confidence placed on interim coach Tan Cheng Hoe's squad was based on the quality and capability of the players selected to represent the country in the inaugural tournament.
"I hope they will give their all. As I have told them, they are not playing for me, nor for FAM, but for the country. This is the mindset they must instil.
"When we play for the country, our hearts are fully committed to the nation, so it is entirely possible for them to achieve this, God willing," he told reporters after FAM's 100th-anniversary celebration here tonight.
Also present was FAM honorary president Tan Sri Hamidin Mohd Amin.
Among the 23 players listed to don the Harimau Malaya jersey at the 2026 FIFA ASEAN Cup are Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) winger Arif Aiman Mohd Hanapi, his teammate and newly naturalised striker Bergson da Silva, and Japan-based Cerezo Osaka defender Dion Cools.
The Harimau Malaya squad, who left for Indonesia early this morning, will compete in Division 1 of the 2026 FIFA ASEAN Cup. They are drawn in Group A with Indonesia, Singapore, and Bangladesh.
Group B comprises Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, and Pakistan.
Malaysia, ranked 136th in the world, will kick off their campaign against 181st-ranked Bangladesh at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta on Sept 25.
The national squad will then meet world number 118 Indonesia at the same venue on Sept 28, before wrapping up their Group A fixtures against 148th-ranked Singapore at the Si Jalak Harupat Stadium in Bandung on Oct 1.
Based on the tournament format, the champions of Group A and Group B will meet in the final at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium on Oct 5, while the runners-up of both groups will face off in a third-place playoff at the same venue earlier that day.
-- BERNAMA