KUALA LUMPUR: Sports analyst Datuk Dr Pekan Ramli has urged Malaysian fans not to get carried away after the national team took heavyweights South Korea to a 3-3 draw in the AFC Asian Cup in Qatar yesterday.
Pekan said he understood how meaningful the result was for Malaysian football, especially its long suffering fans.
"This was definitely an unexpected result. I don't think anybody would have anticipated a high-scoring match like this," said Pekan when contacted today.
"We used to be competitive against South Korea a long time ago. The last time we drew against them was four decades ago (1984).
"It was no doubt a dramatic match which had the fans on the edge of their seats.
"To draw level so late in the game made it even sweeter for the fans even though they knew we would not qualify for the next round.
"We can be proud of the players and the team, but I don't think it would be realistic to say that we are already on the same level as South Korea and can beat them (in the near future).
"The team played very well in the second half, but in the first half, South Korea dominated the match. It was very tough for us to hold onto the ball.
"Ultimately, there is still a lot more for us to work on in various aspects, especially as we have the World Cup qualifiers in March."
Naturalised player Romel Morales came on 12 minutes into injury time and scored the equaliser two minutes later.
Harimau Malaya's next major assignment will be the second round (Asia) of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, which resumes in March.
The squad will face Oman on March 21 (away) and March 26 (home), followed by an away match against Kyrgyzstan (June 6) and Taiwan at home (June 11).
