KUALA LUMPUR: It is all about looking at the bigger picture for national youth coach Hassan Sazali Waras as his team face hosts Vietnam in the Under-19 Newspaper Cup final at the Binh Duong Stadium tomorrow.
Hassan did not bring his best players to Vietnam, preferring to test several new faces for options ahead of the Under-20 Asian Cup qualifiers in Mongolia from Sept 14-19, so a win today will be a great result.
He only retained six players — Syahmi Adib, Ubaidullah Shamsul, Izrin Ibrahim, Danish Irfan Ezal, Adli Ahamad and Aizat Aiman Mazlan — from his team that won the AFF Under-19 Championship in July in Indonesia.
In the Newspaper Cup, Malaysia drew 0-0 with Thailand, lost 2-1 to Vietnam and beat Myanmar 2-0 to finish second in the standings behind Vietnam.
Hassan said the objective was to see how these new players adapt to international football.
"Those who shine here will to join the training squad for the qualifiers. The players had a slow start to the tournament, probably because some do not get regular matches in the M-League. However, they improved after each game, and I am happy with the progress.
"We are in the final, so I hope we can win the title."
Hassan said goalkeeper Syahmi and captain Ubaidullah are doubtful for the final due to injuries.
"However, I expect the available players to produce a good performance tomorrow (today)," he added.
