KUALA LUMPUR – Defender Ahmad Khuzaimi Piee believes that the door is still open for the Harimau Malaya squad to book a slot in the 2023 Asian Cup finals.

He said the players needed to stay focused to grab three important points in their last Group E match of the 2023 Asian Cup qualifiers against Bangladesh, tomorrow night.

The Negeri Sembilan player, who is fondly known as Jimmy, said after losing to Bahrain last Saturday, only a victory over Bangladesh would brighten the national squad’s chances to play in the tournament next year.

“We still have a chance if we look at the teams’ position in other qualifying groups.

“Hopefully, the fans will come to the stadium and show their support for us in the match against Bangladesh,” he said when met recently.

After two matches, Bahrain lead Group E with six points while Malaysia and Turkmenistan are in second and third places respectively with three points and Bangladesh are at the bottom without any points. 

Only the group winners and the five best runners-up across all groups will qualify for the 2023 Asian Cup.

Based on the ranking of the top five runners-up after two matches, Malaysia are in the last position while Thailand, Kyrgyzstan and India are in the top position with six points each and the Philippines (four points) are in the fourth place.

Meanwhile, Ahmad Khuzaimi said the national squad should avoid making simple mistakes when facing Bangladesh. 

“All we have to do is focus and not make stupid mistakes,” he said. – Bernama / pic credit: FAM FB