PUTRAJAYA - Several new faces have caught the attention of national chief coach Tan Cheng Hoe as he goes about forming the Harimau Malaya squad for the 2022 World Cup/2023 Asian Cup qualifying campaign in the United Arab Emirates in June.
Without mentioning names, Cheng Hoe said he is keeping a close watch on them before shortlisting 38 players to prepare for the challenge in UAE.
“We will monitor their performance in the league first.
“There are also several players who were injured and did not play in the Super League. So, I hope they would recover fast while other players should avoid getting injured so that they can be available for the battle in UAE,” he told reporters after receiving his first COVID-19 vaccine jab at Dewan Seri Seroja here today.
Young sensational striker Luqman Hakim Shamsudin and Johor Darul Ta'zim’s (JDT) rising star Ramadhan Saifullah Usman were among the new faces called up for the previous centralised training.
The team will check in for centralised training on May 16, before the final squad of 26 or 27 players leave for the UAE on May 20.
Malaysia are scheduled to play two friendlies ahead of the UAE outing, against Kuwait on May 23 and Bahrain on May 28.
Malaysia will play UAE on June 3, Vietnam on June 11 and Thailand on June 15 to determine the Group G champions, who get an automatic slot to the 2023 Asian Cup final round and 2022 World Cup third qualifying round. - Bernama. April 19, 2021
