DOHA: It would be a waste of all the efforts and money spent over the past two years if Harimau Malaya return from Doha without a point.
FAM president Datuk Hamidin Amin, who is aware of fans' expectations, said the team can't come home empty-handed.
Hamidin said Harimau Malaya had fought hard to qualify on merit for the Asian Cup after 43 years, and he wants to see them make an impact in Doha.
"Everyone (in the team) promised they would try to progress to the second round, and we can't come home empty-handed. At least, we should win or draw to gain something," said Hamidin.
World No. 130 Malaysia will play No. 87 Jordan tomorrow, No. 86 Bahrain on Jan 20 and No. 23 South Korea on Jan 25 in Group E.
Hamidin said he can't promise that Harimau Malaya will beat Jordan but he can assure they will put on a good performance.
"I can't say that we'll win because if we don't, then I'm put in a tight spot. But we will strive for a win. In the end, the media and fans will judge our performance from last year.
"What I can promise is that they will give a good performance through commitment and they will give their all.
"Fans will be able to judge them. I'm not God to say we'll win because there could be red card, penalties and the likes.
"But with the line-up of players and coaching staff, we can do something (great)," said Hamidin.
The team have been training in Doha for almost two weeks, and the talk in the Malaysian camp is that they should aim to get at least four to five points in their bid to qualify for the second round.
Hamidin said that Endrick Dos Santos is the only player in the team with an injury sustained during training before their 2-2 draw against Syria in a friendly on Jan 8.
He added that La'Vere Corbin-Ong has made a full recovery while Natxo Insa is in the process of rejoining training.
