Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Jakarta: It was the best draw possible, said head coach Bojan Hodak, as Malaysia avoided his personal 'big teams' in the AFC U-19 Championship on Friday.
The Southeast Asians will face 2016 runners-up Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and China PR in Group D in the tournament, which kicks off in Jakarta on October 18.
“All 16 teams participating teams are very tough, but for me personally, I was hoping we would avoid Japan, Korea Republic and Iraq, who I think are the best teams,” said the 47-year-old Croatian coach.
However, he acknowledged Malaysia's group rivals would pose a stiff challenge for his team.
“Although we avoided the teams I wanted to avoid, we have a tough group with Saudi Arabia, China and Tajikistan. Three good teams with us who I’m sure we can make life difficult for.
“Saudi Arabia had a great result in the last tournament and they always have a good generation of young footballers, so I think they will be the toughest, while China has invested a lot of money and Tajikistan also has a good generation. Any of these 16 teams are not easy.”
www.the-afc.com/en/more/photo/bojan_hodak_-_malaysia_u-19_head_coach.html
