KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia coach Kim Pan Gon revealed today that he is gunning for 12 points from Group D in their World Cup football qualifying campaign.
That means Malaysia need to win at least four matches in the group which has Oman, Kyrgyzstan and Taiwan with home and away.
And Pan Gon is targeting three of the "12 points" from tomorrow's match against Kyrgyzstan at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
That despite world No. 97 Kyrgyzstan being ranked higher than No 137th Malaysia. But Pan Gon is not being unrealistic; he knows what his men are capable of.
The South Korean wants to take Malaysia, who are used to falling at the first hurdle, much deeper into the qualifying rounds.
To get to the 2026 World Cup proper, Malaysia must survive five qualifying rounds. For now, Pan Gon is looking at getting Harimau Malaya into the third round, and Malaysia must finish among the top two in Group D to advance.
"This is a big challenge for us because in the past, Malaysia had always stopped after the first round.
"We have six games but if we get12 points, then it's good enough. If we get 13, then beautiful," he said.
"This (match against Kyrgyzstan) is very, very, very important, and you can call it 'the game'," said Pan Gon who wants a winning start as a psychological boost for his team.
But Kyrgyzstan have the psychological edge of beating Malaysia 1-0 in a friendly at Hang Jebat Stadium in 2018.
Pan Gon is looking for help from all quarters. And that includes the 12th man — the fans.
"Fans must come to the stadium to support us because we need you all. We know how ticket sales are, but everyone must come out to support us if we are to reach the next round.
"We want to use our home advantage, we want to create the best environment. But 10,000 spectators are not enough, we need a crowd that can scare Kyrgyzstan."
Pan Gon is forced to make this appeal as ticket sales have been slow. As of today, 2pm, only 7,587 tickets were sold.
On Tuesday, Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh urged FAM to reduce the ticket prices (RM40, RM60, RM80) as a "Rahmah".
