KUALA LUMPUR: Harimau Malaya coach Kim Pan Gon wants his side to be relentless and go after Taiwan in Tuesday's World Cup Group D qualifier at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil with the focus on scoring as many goals.
With several key forwards unavailable, Pan Gon called up Argentina-born naturalised striker Sergio Aguero on Sunday to beef up his attacking options.
World No. 138 Malaysia must secure a convincing win against Taiwan and hope Oman defeat Kyrgyzstan by two or more goals to advance to the third round of the qualifiers.
Ideally, Malaysia should aim for a victory margin of eight goals or more.
Oman are at the top of the standings with 12 points, followed by Kyrgyzstan (10 points), Malaysia (seven) while Taiwan, who are bottom, have yet to earn points.
"Aguero was always part of the plan, but we did not call him up earlier (for the Kyrgyzstan game) due to an ankle discomfort. Now that he has recovered, we believe he can make a significant impact tomorrow (Tuesday)," said Pan Gon in the pre-match conference at Wisma FAM, Kelana Jaya, on Monday.
Several forwards, including Faisal Halim, Arif Aiman Hanapi, Darren Lok, and Romel Morales, were not included in the squad for various reasons.
The South Korean coach admitted his team face a formidable challenge of winning by a significant margin against world No. 159 Taiwan.
"Every match is crucial, and if we do not get results, I will be heavily criticised. The same goes for tomorrow's match.
"It is tough to imagine not achieving our target. There is a lot of pressure. However, we cannot afford to take a step back. I have reminded the players that we have to win and score as many goals tomorrow," said Pan Gon, who raised the importance of scoring early to set the tone against Taiwan.
He added: "We must approach the game with passion and focus on the mission."
Attacking midfielder Paulo Josue admitted the absence of Faisal and Arif, known for their dribbling skills, has made it challenging to create opportunities.
"There is more playing time for other players, but less dribbling. We need to keep moving forward and find the space.
"We had some good moments against Kyrgyzstan (1-1) last week, but their goalkeeper made excellent saves. We aim to score the first goal (against Taiwan) and take it step by step from there," said Josue.
