PETALING JAYA: Malaysian Under-23 coach Brad Maloney has got his wish.

With the withdrawals of Indonesia and Myanmar, Maloney had initially proposed a two-match face off but it was rejected by their opponents.But on Wednesday, the Asean Football Federation (AFF) in a statement said that both sides would play two matches.

The Tournament Committee took fair play and sporting spirit into consideration by deciding to change the format of play from league to home and away.Malaysia will take on Laos at the Prince Stadium today and on Monday (Feb 21) at the Morodok Techo Stadium.

A delighted Maloney said his boys would now have valuable playing minutes.“This is better than a one-off match. I support the decision made by the AFF. We get to play more football and I can give some of the new players minutes,” said Maloney.For the game today, all except for Fahmi Daniel Zaaim and Shafi Azswad Sapari, who are still under quarantine due to Covid-19, are available for selection. headtopics.com

Maloney’s boys only need to beat Laos in group to reach semis

“I can say that the team are fit and raring to go,” he added.“Laos will be well organised and physical. We played them in the AFC Under-23 Asian Cup qualifiers last year. We won by a slim margin and they didn’t make it easy for us. We expect the same tomorrow (today).”

Meanwhile, in the AFC Under-23 Asian Cup draw conducted yesterday, Malaysia have been placed in Group C with defending champions South Korea and regional rivals Thailand and Vietnam.Maloney called it an interesting draw and believed no games would be easy in Uzbekistan from June 1-19.

“South Korea are the favourites and it will be challenging. We could be facing Thailand and Vietnam in the SEA Games and then meet them again in the Asian Cup.“The boys know it will be tough all the way.“For now, we will focus on the competition here, get these boys some international exposure and grow stronger before the Asian Cup.”