Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia were on fire against Timor-Leste in their FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Preliminary Qualification first leg tie on Friday but head coach Tan Cheng Hoe wasn't fully satisfied.
Although pleased with his players for virtually sealing their place in the next round with the 7-1 win at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil, Tan said there is room for improvement in his team.
Safawi Rasid hit a brace as Lawrence Corbin Ong, Shahrel Fikri, Norshahrul Idlan Talaha, Faiz Nasir and Akhyar Rashid also found the back of the net with Timor-Leste skipper Felix Pedro scoring a consolation for his team.
Tan, however, has targeted an even better performance in Tuesday's return leg, also to be played at the National Stadium with Timor-Leste as the home team.
Asian Qualifiers: Malaysia v Timor-Leste
"My players played to instructions and scored seven goals. But we still need to work on our passing game and combination.
“I hope we will produce a better show in the return leg,” said Cheng Hoe.
The head coach, who steered Malaysia to a runners-up finish in the 2018 AFF Cup, said his team must not be complacent in the return leg.
"We did well to score a big win but the tie isn't over yet.
"We still have a match to play and my instruction to the players will be to play with the same commitment and intensity they showed in the first leg."
Note: Timor-Leste are ineligible to participate in the 2023 AFC Asian Cup, after the AFC Disciplinary and Ethics Committee expelled the Federacao Futebol Timor-Leste from the tournament in January 20, 2017, for fielding ineligible players. Their participation is for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 only.
Source: the-afc.com