FA of Malaysia deputy president Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah is not worried about the Malaysian Selection being on the receiving end of another big loss to an English Premier League powerhouse Chelsea on Thursday.
Tengku Abdullah, who was speaking after officiating the launch of the Universal Fitness and Leisure (UFL) silver jubilee logo, said the match is meant to serve as part of the team's preparation for the third round of the Asian Olympic qualifiers in September.
The team, who will be led by coach Ong Kim Swee, will comprise a combination of former internationals and current Under-23 squad players.
"Regardless of the outcome, the main objective of the match is to give the young players experience playing against a top-class team which will help them prepare for the qualifying matches in September," said Tengku Abdullah.
"Of course Chelsea are a very strong team and it will be hard to beat them. However, I expect the team to go out and play to the system laid out for them and keep a positive mindset."
Tengku Abdullah, who also officiated a cheque presentation which saw UFL managing director Datuk Radha Krishnan donate RM25,000 to the Tunku Azizah Fertility Foundation, added that he was pleased with the improvement the national team showed against Liverpool last week.
"I was not so happy with the first game (against Arsenal), but the second game (against Liverpool) did see some improvement from the team although the scoreline may not have reflected it.
"It was good to see them being able to score goals but somehow they forgot how to defend.
"The players made some individual mistakes which we just cannot afford to do in big matches."
Tengku Abdullah said he was hoping to see the national team shore up their defence in time for the World Cup Qualifier against Singapore.
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