Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) president Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim said that he was not surprised by the national team’s all-time low FIFA ranking of 174.
This follows two losses for Nelo Vingada’s men earlier this month, both 4-1 defeats to North Korea, in the 2019 Asian Cup qualifiers.
“I have a question to ask. Did the fans really think we were going to beat Lebanon? We cannot win against Lebanon,” said Tunku Ismail in a press conference today, as quoted by the News Straits Times.
“So what is so surprising? Could we really have beaten North Korea, a team which had previously qualified for the World Cup? I knew before the tournament that we would not win and I did not expect it.
“But as a supporter of the national team, don’t wait for the team to lose before criticising the FAM president, it is irresponsible.”
