Australian coach Brad Maloney can finally start planning for Malaysian youth football.
After two earlier assignments were sidelined, Maloney will prepare the national Under-20 team for the Under-23 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers on Oct 23-31 in Mongolia.
Maloney was supposed to train the Malaysian team for the Asian Under-19 Championship in Uzbekistan in March this year, but it was cancelled due to Covid-19. And his plans to get the team ready for the Vietnam Sea Games (Nov 21-Dec 2) were also put on hold after its postponement to next year.
In the Asian Cup Under-23 draw yesterday, Malaysia ended in Group J of the qualifying round with Mongolia, Thailand and Laos.
"It isn't an easy route in Group J because we are sending our Under-20 team. What's more important is the exposure for the players in preparation for the qualifiers in 2023," said Kim Swee.
"We will play Laos in our first game (Oct 27). We can't take them lightly because they have shown improvement.
"Our second game against Mongolia (Oct 29) will not be easy as they have home advantage. Our third match is against Thailand (Oct 31), who are Malaysia's traditional rivals."
