MALAYSIA, despite not enjoying home ground advantage four years ago, finished 10th in the Junior World Cup. He points to the fact that Malaysia have lost only two matches -- 2-0 against South Korea and 2-1 against Poland -- and believes the future isn't necessarily bleak.
"This indicates that the gap between junior teams around the world is not that big, so we need to start grooming our Under-16 boys from today if we want to remain competitive in the next World Cup," said Rajan.
That is especially true for Asian hockey as South Korea, India, Pakistan and Japan all missed the semi-finals, while European and Oceania teams are within touching distance of the trophy.
Scorer of eight of Malaysia's 15 goals, Faizal is suspended after picking up a third yellow card against Egypt on Wednesday.
"We will miss Faizal as he has scored more than 50 per cent of our goals, and it will make it that much harder against Belgium.
"However, I have my strategy and if the plan is followed on the pitch, we will finish 11th." Belgium have also lost only twice -- 3-0 against Argentina and 4-0 against India -- and their biggest win was a 6-2 drubbing of Japan. They also beat Pakistan 2-1.
"Belgium have proven themselves to be a stubborn team but my players have learnt from playing against other equally stubborn sides like Poland and Egypt. We will have to adapt fast, strike early and finish the match as winners inside 70 minutes," said Rajan.
