Malaysia national coach Dollah Salleh says the friendly against English Premier League giants Tottenham Hotspur at the Shah Alam Stadium on May 27 will provide valuable practice for the 2018 World Cup qualifiers in June.
"We are running out of time to arrange friendly matches before the World Cup qualifiers. Therefore, I will use the game against Spurs to test the players," Dollah told The Star before leaving for Thursday's friendly against Oman at the Seeb Sports Stadium in Muscat.
Tottenham are the second Premier League heavyweights who will be seen in action at the Shah Alam Stadium after the end of the 2014-2015 season. Liverpool have also confirmed that their exhibition match against Harimau Malaya on July 24.
"People might say these friendlies against the Premier League sides are circus matches which are not beneficial to the national team. But that is forgetting the reality that we're playing against teams who are much better than us," said Dollah. "The matches against Spurs and Liverpool will give our players a chance to gauge themselves against world class teams and learn from the experience for World Cup qualifiers."
Malaysia will know their international opponents on April 14 when the draw for the second round of AFC World Cup qualifying matches is made at AFC House in Kuala Lumpur.