Malaysia head coach Tan Cheng Hoe believes that his forward Akhyar Rashid will improve further in the coming months to strengthen the Harimau Malaya in the World Cup/Asian Cup qualification group stage.
He started in place of club teammate Safawi Rasid in their second leg first round play-off against Timor-Leste on Tuesday, and helped Malaysia record a 5-1 win, 12-2 on aggregate, and advance to the next round of the qualifiers, with his two assists and one goal. The 20-year old was picked as the man of the match by Goal.