PIC SCREEN CAPTURED FROM VIDEO
PIC SCREEN CAPTURED FROM VIDEO

KUALA LUMPUR: The 80,000-capacity National Stadium is expected to be unusually quiet today as only 12,245 tickets have been sold so far for the World Cup qualifier between Harimau Malaya and Taiwan.

Typically, the stadium is packed whenever the national football team play at the venue.

Factors such as an evening thunderstorm and the match falling on a weekday could be contributing to the low attendance.

However, there's still time for ticket sales to pick up before the 9pm kick-off.

Harimau Malaya are relying on strong home support to secure victory over Taiwan.

National coach Kim Pan Gon, during a press conference yesterday, appealed for supporters' to fill the National Stadium to boost the players' morale in this critical match.

Malaysia must win by at least eight goals and hope for an Oman victory over Kyrgyzstan in Muscat to qualify for the third round of the World Cup qualifiers and secure an early ticket to the 2027 Asian Cup.