Veteran Win looks to lead Myanmar
youngsters
SINGAPORE After a four-year exile from the Myanmar national team,
striker Myo Hlaing Win is to make a welcome return to international
football when he lines up against Singapore in a Tiger Cup warm-up
match on Saturday.
Win has not appeared for his country since the 2000 Tiger Cup but
his excellent form for Finance & Revenue Club this season has
earned the 31-year-old a recall by new Myanmar coach Ivan Kolev and
an opportunity to reach the 50-goal mark in international
football.
Im very happy to be playing for the national team again at the
Tiger Cup. I scored 46 international goals when I played for
Myanmar from 1989 to 2000 and I would very much like to get to 50,
said Win, a veteran of three Tiger Cups.
As the most senior member of Myanmars 22-man squad, Win will offer
some much-needed experience to a team that features 10 teenagers
and only three players over the age of 22. However, the
newly-appointed national skipper believes that his side could offer
a few surprises when they meet defending champions Thailand, hosts
Malaysia, Timor Leste and Philippines in their Group B matches
Kuala Lumpur.
It will be tough for us to get results especially against Thailand
and Malaysia. However, we have a lot of talented young players in
this team and I think that we can do well.
We will be playing four games in Singapore during the next week to
prepare for the Tiger Cup. Hopefully, we can enjoy some good
performances here and bring some confidence with us to Kuala Lumpur
for the tournament, added Win.
The warm-up matches in Singapore against the national teams of
Singapore and Hong Kong, and S.League sides Singapore Armed Forces
and Tampines Rovers will be the first opportunity for new coach
Ivan Kolev to get the measure of his side against international
opposition.
We have only seen the players in action in the Myanmar league so
far, so these warm-up games in Singapore are very important for us
to see the real situation of the team, said Myanmar assistant
coach Atanos Georgiev.
