MALAYSIA gained the best possible outcome in the Asian Olympic qualification third round draw in Kuala Lumpur yesterday as coach Ong Kim Swee's squad look forward to trips to the Middle East and Japan. The lowest ranked team of the 12 third round qualifiers, Malaysia were drawn in Group C with favourites Japan, Bahrain and Syria.
Kim Swee will fancy Malaysia's chances of picking up points against Bahrain and Syria though a daunting opening match awaits the national Olympic squad against Japan in Tokyo on Sept 21.
"It would not have made a difference whether we had been drawn into Group A, B or C. We have a job to do regardless and we want to be able to give all the teams a run for their money and try to score an upset or two.
"Japan are the Asian Games (Under-23) champions and it will be a heavy task to play them in our opening match away. But we will try our best and play with high spirits.
"If we can reproduce what we showed against Lebanon (in the second round), we might be able to achieve something," said Kim Swee after the draw at AFC House yesterday.
Besides a month-long tour of Slovakia, Kim Swee will seek to play one or two international friendlies before meeting Japan with a tour of South Korea also a possibility.
The three group winners will automatically qualify for the Olympics while the second-placed teams will enter a round-robin playoff from which the winners will play the fourth ranked African team for an additional slot.
Meanwhile, Kim Swee added 11 state or club-based players to his Olympic squad for the tour of Slovakia on July 23-Aug 28 in preparation for the final round of Olympic qualifying.
Terengganu left-back Zubir Azmi and Kedah winger Faizal Abu Bakar were retained from the squad which defeated Lebanon 2-1 on aggregate in the second round.
Joining them are nine newcomers in Azrul Azmi, Syazwan Zainon (Felda United), Izuan Solahuddin (Kelantan), Ahmad Hazwan Bakri (Kuala Lumpur), Famirul Asraf Sayuti (Pahang), Azrif Nasrulhaq Badrul Hisham, Khairul Skhyar Hussain (PKNS), Syazwan Roslan (Perak) and Rozaimi Abdul Rahman (Sabah).
Also in the squad are 16 players from Young Tigers 'A' and two from Young Tigers 'B'. Kelantan goalkeeper Khairul Fahmi Che Mat and Negri Sembilan forward Ahmad Fakri Saarani were excluded from the tour as they are needed for the senior team's World Cup qualification campaign.
Kim Swee will fancy Malaysia's chances of picking up points against Bahrain and Syria though a daunting opening match awaits the national Olympic squad against Japan in Tokyo on Sept 21.
"It would not have made a difference whether we had been drawn into Group A, B or C. We have a job to do regardless and we want to be able to give all the teams a run for their money and try to score an upset or two.
"Japan are the Asian Games (Under-23) champions and it will be a heavy task to play them in our opening match away. But we will try our best and play with high spirits.
"If we can reproduce what we showed against Lebanon (in the second round), we might be able to achieve something," said Kim Swee after the draw at AFC House yesterday.
Besides a month-long tour of Slovakia, Kim Swee will seek to play one or two international friendlies before meeting Japan with a tour of South Korea also a possibility.
The three group winners will automatically qualify for the Olympics while the second-placed teams will enter a round-robin playoff from which the winners will play the fourth ranked African team for an additional slot.
Meanwhile, Kim Swee added 11 state or club-based players to his Olympic squad for the tour of Slovakia on July 23-Aug 28 in preparation for the final round of Olympic qualifying.
Terengganu left-back Zubir Azmi and Kedah winger Faizal Abu Bakar were retained from the squad which defeated Lebanon 2-1 on aggregate in the second round.
Joining them are nine newcomers in Azrul Azmi, Syazwan Zainon (Felda United), Izuan Solahuddin (Kelantan), Ahmad Hazwan Bakri (Kuala Lumpur), Famirul Asraf Sayuti (Pahang), Azrif Nasrulhaq Badrul Hisham, Khairul Skhyar Hussain (PKNS), Syazwan Roslan (Perak) and Rozaimi Abdul Rahman (Sabah).
Also in the squad are 16 players from Young Tigers 'A' and two from Young Tigers 'B'. Kelantan goalkeeper Khairul Fahmi Che Mat and Negri Sembilan forward Ahmad Fakri Saarani were excluded from the tour as they are needed for the senior team's World Cup qualification campaign.
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