BAHRAIN are expecting a tough fight from Malaysia when the two teams lock horns in their Group E second match of the 2023 Asian Cup at the Jassim Bin Hammad Stadium, tomorrow.

Dilmun’s Warriors coach Juan Antonio Pizzi said despite their good run against the Harimau Malaya, Bahrain will not have an easy match as both teams have the same goal of qualifying for the round of 16.

However, the 55-year-old Argentine-born manager who led Chile to the Copa America title in 2016 said his team was not looking for any other result than a victory over Malaysia led by South Korean Kim Pan Gon.

“For me, it doesn’t matter what the result of the previous match between us is, we are here just focused on getting three points. We already have a plan and the players know they have to give everything.

“The more goals we score in tomorrow’s match, the better our situation will be (in our quest to qualify for the round of 16),” he told a pre-match press conference here, today.

Commenting further, the former coach of Saudi Arabia said his team’s 1-3 defeat to South Korea in the group opener last Monday, provided a useful lesson ahead of tomorrow’s match.

He said the team had studied Malaysia’s ability based on their last two matches against Syria and Jordan respectively.

Meanwhile, winger Ali Madan said the team’s preparations to face Malaysia were going well and hoped luck would favour them to qualify for the knockout stage.

“We are focusing on winning as much as focus on scoring goals, but we are more focused on winning.

“After analysing the Malaysian team, we know they have very good and fast players. The game against Jordan should be a valuable lesson for them (ahead of tomorrow’s clash),” said the 28-year-old player.

For the record, Malaysia have lost to Bahrain in their last three encounters since 2013, with the last meeting seeing Bahrain win 2-1 in the 2023 Asian Cup Qualifiers at Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur in 2022.

Tomorrow’s match is the first meeting between the two teams at the Asian Cup finals.

Bahrain are currently ranked 86th in the world, while Malaysia is 130th. – Bernama, January 19, 2024.