00:00How do you see the World Cup inspiring Southeast Asian football in the US to come?
00:03Oh, has to, surely, as a footballer has to inspire you.
00:07Look, it's difficult for Malaysia, for Singapore at the moment.
00:11We're not even top in Southeast Asia at the moment.
00:13So you've got Indonesia and Thailand who are ahead of us, I think, correct?
00:17At the moment, and Vietnam, that's not Vietnam.
00:20So they're the three.
00:21So we've got to make the ground on those three teams first.
00:25If you can make the ground on those three teams first,
00:27then you give yourself an opportunity to try and beat the Middle Eastern teams.
00:33So you're looking at ten teams from West Asia who are very, very strong.
00:39And now you've got Southeast Asia, you've got three teams who are ahead of you.
00:43So that's already 13 teams that you've got to make up for.
00:47You have to believe. The World Cup has to inspire these players.
00:50You have to inspire their nations to do better.
00:53And I want Malaysia to do better. I want Singapore to do better.
00:57But first and foremost, you've got to strengthen your league.
00:59You've got to have a very, very strong league.
01:01And hopefully, not the next World Cup, maybe the one after.
01:05Maybe an eight-year plan, maybe a 12-year plan, and aim for that.
01:10And say, OK, in 12 years, we're going to give ourselves a shot to make the World Cup.
01:15But definitely a little bit too early for the next World Cup.
01:19Which Southeast Asian nation do you think will qualify for the World Cup?
01:23Let's say maybe in 2030? Because Indonesia were close.
01:26They were close.
01:28Do you reckon it'll happen again?
01:29Yeah. We spoke about the bloodline that they got, obviously.
01:34The Dutch colony influence, and they've got some... that helps.
01:38A lot of them play at top leagues in Europe.
01:40At the moment, they look pretty strong.
01:43Don't forget the ties. The ties keep getting better.
01:46They're improving.
01:47Malaysia's got to somehow find the players within the country.
01:52And hopefully, there's some good bloodline around the world that they can pick up.
01:57Maybe there's some 14, 15-year-olds out there in four years' time.
02:02They'll be 19 and 20, and they could be the players that can come into the national team.
02:08We hope so too. We hope so too.
Comments