KUALA LUMPUR: Harimau Malaya must reorganise and fine-tune their tactics to save their World Cup qualifying campaign.
The national team fell to No. 138 in the world rankings following a winless run this year.
The team recorded one draw and four defeats.
Malaysia are third in Group D in the qualifiers following back-to-back defeats to world No. 77 Oman in Muscat and Bukit Jalil last month.
However, Harimau Malaya still has a chance to finish top two in the group, provided they win their remaining qualifying matches against world No.100 Kyrgyzstan in Bishkek on June 6 and No.158 Taiwan in Bukit Jalil on June 11.
Football critic Dr Zulakbal Abdul Karim said national coach Kim Pan Gon needs to look into his team's tactical approach.
"Firstly, the coach needs to re-look his tactics and reorganise the team ahead of their remaining qualifying matches," said Zulakbal, an AFC professional coaching diploma holder.
"It is a do-or-die mission, and they must win or draw at Kyrgyzstan.
"Although Harimau Malaya will be taking on a higher-ranked team, they must play proactive football and cannot be too cautious.
"If you study Harimau Malaya's lineup in the Asian Cup, it looks like they are taking a trial-and-error approach. By now, the coach should know who is his first XI.
"The team need more build-up matches to build chemistry among the players and each department.
Zulakbal believes that the national players should know how to react and recover from defeats.
He pointed out that during the match against Oman, the players were affected after making silly mistakes.
According to Zulakbal, a sports science associate professor at Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI), the team need to develop a range of strategies to transition effectively from defence to the offensive line.
