MALAYSIANS watching the World Cup finals in Dataran Merdeka early today hope they would some day be watching live matches as the country plans to bid for the 2034 edition of the tournament.

As France defeated Croatia 4-2, several thousands were glued to the giant screens in the public square.

Among the scores of football fans, several Malaysians wished they, too, could see the Harimau Malaya team in the World Cup.

“The current under-19 team are good with their wins. I hope they will become seniors and lead us into the World Cup,” auxiliary policeman Saufi Ghazali told The Malaysian Insight.

One way to qualify for the finals would be to host the games. FIFA executive committee member Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah proposed the idea to host the 2034 finals alongside with other Asean countries.

Many Malaysians agreed with co-hosting with Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, said Nor Azlan, a 30-year old driver from Klang.

“We all agree that this is a good move. Our juniors are doing well, they have the potential to make it into the finals,” he said.

Student M. Thevakavi said, as a “footballing” nation, Malaysia should have no trouble in developing the sport further.

“It’s great, we are a footballing nation. Malaysia is not a Third-World country, we can improve. This time, we are developing the youth, which is good,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

The viewing party was organised by Nadi Harapan, which has ties with the Pakatan Harapan government, alongside other civil society groups.

Among the ministers present were Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman, Federal Territories Minister Khalid Samad and Works Minister Baru Bian.

Several first-time lawmakers like Fahmi Fadzil (Lembah Pantai) and P. Prabakaran (Batu) were also spotted. The French and Croatian ambassadors were also there wearing their respective team colours.

There was a festival-like atmosphere with food trucks and vendors selling jerseys, banners and flags of Croatia and France.

Every time France’s Paul Pogba, Kylian Mbappe and Croatia’s Luka Modric touched the ball, the crowd cheered. When the tit-for-tat goals were scored, Malaysians celebrated on top of their lungs.

Several attendees praised the new PH government for organising such an event and their politicians for being approachable.

“This is my first time watching the World Cup out of the house. We feel like we are in the stadium. There is so much spirit.

“The politicians are also so friendly, I even had a selfie with Syed. There is no barrier, it is a good event,” said Peshminder Pall Singh, a public university student.

French family, Jean and Agnes Cali, holidaying here, were surprised with the atmosphere at Dataran.

“The people are very very friendly. We are amazed at the set-up here,” Agnes said.

“We didn’t know football is so big in Malaysia, we only thought it was huge in Europe,” Jean said.

Malaysians are pinning their hopes on the team which won their maiden AFF Under-19 Championship two days ago beating Myanmar. – July 16, 2018.