Malaysia and Singapore strikers ready for battle

The mouth-watering World Cup qualifying clash between Malaysia and Singapore could turn out to be a battle between the two most prolific strikers in Southeast Asia.

Safee Sali and Aleksandar Duric have both scored important goals for Malaysia and Singapore respectively, with the former only recently getting recognised following his success in last December's AFF Cup.

Safee has scored 13 goals from 29 appearances while the Bosnian-born Duric has gotten 16 from 29 matches.

"Both players are motivated mentally to make a difference. Safee scored a brace in his last match against Liverpool while Duric did the same against Taiwan.

 

"It will be interesting to see who becomes a hero on Saturday (tomorrow)," said national coach K. Rajagobal yesterday.

"Safee's return to form is a good thing for the team. We need him to be sharp here as away goals play a crucial role in the World Cup qualifiers."

"At 41, Duric is still sharp for his age. He not only scores but also creates opportunities for his teammates. We definitely need to avoid giving him room."

According to the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS), Duric is the most successful top division goal-scorer still active in the sport.

The veteran has scored 328 goals in 444 club-level appearances for various teams.

When asked about Singapore's hopes in the second round two-leg tie, Duric said Malaysia hold a slight advantage.

"They probably have the same team that played in the AFF Cup, so they have a bit of an advantage over us. But I don't give them that much favour. You can say they are a little bit, maybe, stronger than us at the moment," said Duric.

Malaysia's porous defence, which let in 14 goals in their last four matches, could be in for a tough time in stopping Duric from scoring. Rajagobal hopes his players have learnt from their mistakes.

"We conceded 10 goals in our last two matches against Arsenal and Liverpool but both were only friendlies. My players will definitely play better on Saturday (tomorrow)," added Rajagobal.