BY ZULHILMI ZAINAL Follow on Twitter
Ahead of Malaysia's friendly match against Chinese Taipei on Friday, Harimau Malaya head coach Tan Cheng Hoe has mentioned that his charges need to be wary of several of the hosts' players.
He specifically named two of them in the pre-match press conference when asked by the local media, with both of them plying their trades in neighbouring China's second tier; China League One.
"I've watched several matches involving the Chinese Taipei national team, and I could see that several players on the team are very good.
"Chen Hao-wei plays in the Chinese league (for Beijing Enterprises in China League One), as does the captain, Chen Po-liang (for Zhejiang Greentown)," said Cheng Hoe.
The former Kedah boss would do well not to underestimate the players, especially the 30 year-old Po-liang.
The last time the two teams met, back in 2011 in the World Cup qualifier play-offs, Po-liang scored two goals in the two-legged tie which ended 3-3 on aggregate, with Malaysia only advancing on the away-goal rule.
Under Cheng Hoe who was promoted as head coach early this year, Malaysia recorded a 2-2 home draw against Mongolia, a 2-1 away defeat to Lebanon, a 7-0 home victory over Bhutan, and a 1-0 win against Fiji.
Meanwhile the hosts, after recording a 1-0 win over Singapore in March, then lost 5-0 to India, 1-0 to New Zealand and 4-0 to Kenya.
Thursday's match will take place at the Taipei Municipal Stadium, at 7.00 pm Malaysian time.
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