MALAYSIA have England, Pakistan and South Africa for company in the Junior World to be held in New Delhi from Dec 6-15.
In the 16-team tournament, Malaysia must finish among the top-two in their Group to qualify for the quarter-finals.
And going by form, it is not an impossible task for coach K. Dharmaraj’s boys.
The national juniors are on a nine-match tour of Europe, where they won two matches against Poland Juniors, lost one to Poland seniors; and then lost all three matches against Belgium.
But there was mixed-news when they moved to England to play another three matches, as the 69th minute syndrome saw them being held 3-3 by the English.
For the record, five national juniors were left behind to train with Paul Revington for the Asia Cup.
“These three matches are important, as we are in the same group as England and need to plan on how to collect three points form them in New Delhi.
“We took a 2-0 lead, but then let in two goals in the final minutes of the first half, and were held to a draw in the 69th minute,” said juniors manager Mirnawan Nawawi.
The juniors also lost the first match, 3-2 to Belgium, when they let in a 69th minute goal.
“That is one of the worries we have now, as the defenders tend to give away penalty corners easily in the dying minutes of a match.
“We are working to rectify that problem, as we can’t afford it against England, South Africa and Pakistan in the World Cup if we want to play in the knock-out stages,” said Mirnawan.
Against England, the Malaysian goals were scored by Zulhairi Hashim (12th), Rezuan Jaafar (28th) and Syamin Yusof (62nd).
The England goals were score in the 33rd, 35th and 69th minutes and the next two matches will be played today and tomorrow.
Malaysia will get another chance to spar with their Group D opponents in full strength, as England, South Africa and Pakistan have been confirmed for the seven-team Sultan of Johor Cup on Sept 19-29.
The other teams are South Korea, Argentina and India. All seven teams have confirmed for the World Cup as well.
JUNIOR WORLD CUP -- GROUP A: Germany, South Korea, Belgium, Egypt; GROUP B: Australia, Spain, Argentina, France; GROUP C: Netherlands, New Zealand, India, Canada; GROUP D: Malaysia, England, Pakistan, South Africa.
