PETALING JAYA, Sept 24 – National football coach Tan Cheng Hoe has left out some big names but recalled some who had tasted national duty before and brought in some new names when he named a 24-player squad for two Tier 1 internationals friendly next month.
The Harimau Malaya will play Jordan (ranked 93) at the King Abdullah Stadium in Amman on Oct 6 followed by a match against Uzbekistan at the Amman International Stadium, Amman on Oct 9.
It will be a two-fold mission for Cheng Hoe and his Harimau Malaya in preparations for the AFF Suzuki Cup 2020 is scheduled to be held from Dec 5-Jan 1 2022 after being postponed from last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Cheng Hoe has left out big names like Farizal Marlias, Safawi Rasid, Mohamadou Sumareh, Corbin Ong, Junior Eldstal, Matthew Davies, Liridon Krasniqi to ”give them some much needed rest” from football but was quick to point out that they are very much in the running for a place in the team.Names like Khairul Fahmi Che Mat (Melaka United), Baddrol Bakhtiar (Kedah FC), Kenny Pallraj) and Akram Mahinan (KL City FC), Faisal Halim and Arif Fazilah (Terengggganu FC) are back in the list.
New names added to the callup list are Kallamullah Al-Hafiz (PJ City FC), Quentin Cheng and Al Hafiz Harun, (Penang FC), Shahrul Nazeem Zulpakar and Mukhairi Ajmal Mahadi (Selangor FC) and Hakimi Abdullah (Terengganu FC).
Among those who helped Malaysia stay in the hunt in the third round of the Asia Cup qualifiers and retained for the friendlies against Jordan and Uzbekistan are Aidil Zafuan Abdul Radzak (JDT), Khairulazhan Khalid (Selangor FC), Dominic Tan (Police Tero FC), Dion Cools (FC Midtjylland), Irfan Zakaria (KL City), Syahmi Safari (Selangor FC), Nazmi Faiz Mansor (JDT), Akhyar Rashid (JDT), Syafiq Ahmad (JDT, Luqman Hakim Shamsuddin (KV Kortrijk) and Guilherme De Paula (JDT).
“We have the AFF Suzuki Cup and also the third round of the Asia Cup qualifiers. This is the time to try out some new talent that has done well for their respective teams in the league,” said Cheng Hoe.
“The matches against Jordan and Uzbekistan will be a good test for the players. The new names have been quite consistent in their game for their club teams. The squad is a blend of youth and experience.”
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