Iskandar Puteri: Harimau Malaya midfielder Nooa Laine admitted that Dr Graig Duncan has helped improve the team’s fitness during the national squad training sessions ahead of the third round of the 2027 Asian Cup Qualifiers against Nepal at Sultan Ibrahim Stadium, Iskandar Puteri, near here, on March 25.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the heritage player stated that Duncan’s role as the head of High Performance and Sports Medicine for the national team is an innovative step forward for the squad. Previously, there was no expert to analyze each player’s data in terms of fitness quality. Laine remarked, “I think, it is a new thing for us. We’re doing wellness medical check-up every morning to see the fitness of players and I think it really helps us to know what we should do in training and how we can improve our fitness and everything,” during a press conference.
Regarding the training sessions, the Selangor FC player noted that the team has been adapting well to national head coach Peter Cklamovski’s tac
tical approach. “The last four days have been really good, really exciting. I think the training intensity level is very high and the coach and coaching staff really helped us to get to the next level and I’ve really enjoyed it so far,” he shared.
On the upcoming game against Nepal, Laine emphasized that the South Asian team should not be underestimated, despite Harimau Malaya’s previous 5-1 victory over them in a friendly match. He mentioned, “To be honest, I don’t know that much yet (about Nepal) but I think they’re playing against Singapore today. So, it is an important match for us to see how they play and prepare ourselves.”
Laine also highlighted the significance of the match against Nepal, stating it would be an important game for Harimau Malaysia to kickstart their Asian Cup Qualifiers campaign. “We have to secure a winning start at home in the campaign,” he added.
Following the match against Nepal, Malaysia will face Vietnam on June 10, Laos on October 9 and October 14, Nepal again on November 18,
and Vietnam on March 31, 2026.