PETALING JAYA (5 May 2026) – Selangor FC head coach Kim Pan-gon has called on his players to step out of the shadows and seize the early advantage when the Malaysian club host Nam Ðinh FC of Vietnam in the ASEAN Club Championship Shopee Cup™ first leg semi-finals at MBPJ Stadium on Wednesday.
The Korean tactician is eager for the Red Giants to translate their current domestic form onto the regional stage, with forward Faisal Halim, Chrigor Moraes and goalkeeper Kalamullah Al-Hafiz primed to play big roles in the club’s quest for regional supremacy.
“Last two games, our players showed their characteristics with attacking team, and very strong defending. Our players should have gained a lot of confidence for this match,” said Kim following two domestic league wins which saw his team score 10 goals and concede none.
“We must win in front of our spectators before we go for the away game, we want to have a big advantage. For us, it’s very important to get into the semi-finals, which is a big achievement.”
Along with Johor Darul Ta’zim FC, who face Shopee Cup™ defending champions Buriram United FC of Thailand in the other semi-final tie, they are the first two Malaysian clubs to advance into the knock-out stage of the tournament.
Kim, formerly the head coach of Malaysia, Hong Kong and Ulsan HD, believes his side have every chance of defeating their visitors, who will be powered by in-form Brazil-born striker Nguyễn Xuân Son, the tournament’s top scorer with seven goals.
“In this region, normally people say Thailand and Vietnam are ahead of Malaysia,” said Kim. “But tomorrow, we want to show that Malaysia can compete, strong enough to compete against Vietnam or Thailand teams. If we can get into the final representing Malaysia, it will be very meaningful for the people of Malaysia.
“Our team is all aware that this game is crucial for our club, for this season especially. We are well prepared in terms of mental strength and psychologically. We are ready.”
Appointed in January, Kim’s guidance has seen a renaissance for Selangor, who have lost only once in 18 matches.
Kim likes what he has seen so far but knows the work is far from finished. Faisal is the team’s leading scorer with four goals in the Shopee Cup™ while Brazil’s Chrigor has 23 goals under his belt in the domestic league.
“We are building our team, the characteristics, an attacking team and also zero goals conceded is very important,” he said.
“For our team’s DNA, we always want to control and dominate the game. That’s our characteristic and philosophy. We have a strong squad and we don’t feel we are the underdogs, especially at home.
“We want to show our spectators that our players are confident. Tomorrow, hopefully Nam Ðinh will come here to attack us so we can provide a very exciting game to the fans.
“For us, the focus to get into the final is very important. Any team we will face, it doesn’t matter. It’s important for the future. For the last 10 years, we’ve not had good results, but now, we start to build the team’s characteristics and build the results for the future.” – aseanutdfc.com
