The new Malaysia U.23 team has 5 players to focus on preparing for the 31st SEA Games

Associated Bernama Information from the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) said that only 5 out of 31 players on the U.23 squad’s summons list were present for the first training session at the training center located in Kelana Jaya, Selangor on April 19. These are Muhammad Faiz Amer Runnizar, Muhammad Shafi Azswad Sapari, Haqimi Azim Rosli, Nazrel Sikh Azman, Fahmi Daniel.

Malaysia U.23 team only has 5 players to focus on training on the first day to prepare for the 31st SEA Games FAMILY

Except 2 stars are playing soccer abroad are striker Hadi Fayyadh (who plays for Japanese club Azul Claro) and talented attacker Luqman Hakim (KV Kortrijk club in the top Belgian league), the rest of the players on the list Malaysia U.23 team They are all playing for clubs in the top 2 domestic leagues. This situation raises concerns about poor performance like in the recent Southeast Asian U.23 tournament when the Malaysian U.23 team with many new factors lost to U.23 Laos in 2 matches and was eliminated from the group stage. .

Facing the above worries, coach Brad Maloney of the Malaysia U.23 team can only hope that the remaining players will gather in turn in the near future to be able to deploy the preparation plan for the 31st SEA Games. the ability of clubs to refuse to release players. We are still negotiating with the clubs in the hope that the players will be allowed to gather with the team,” coach Maloney told reporters after training on April 19.

Coach Maloney (left) of Malaysia U.23 team has difficulty summoning players FAMILY

The Australian strategist also revealed that two stars Luqman and Hadi will join the Malaysian U.23 team on April 25 and 29, respectively. “I know Luqman’s abilities well, having worked with him many times. He is a valuable asset to the national team and is always ready to dedicate himself to the colors of the flag. With Hadi, he has just recovered from his injury and is back in action. We will assess his fitness after he is focused,” added coach Maloney.

According to the preparation plan for 31st SEA Games men’s football, Malaysia U.23 team will have 3 warm-up matches against U.23 Timor Leste (April 23 and 29) and U.23 Philippines (1.5), then finalize 20 official players to Hanoi. At this tournament, Malaysia U.23 team is in Group B with Thailand U.23, Cambodia U.23 and U.23 Singapore and U.23 Laos. They will respectively meet Thailand U.23 (7.5), Laos U.23 (11.5), Cambodia U.23 (14.5) and Philippines U.23 (16.4), with all matches taking place at Thien Truong Stadium. , Nam Dinh.