KOTA KINABALU − The decision on whether United States-based player Wan Ahmad Kuzri Wan Ahmad Kamal will join the national squad for the Asean Football Federation (AFF) Under-23 (U-23) Championship 2022 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia this month will be finalised tomorrow, said head coach Brad Maloney.
He said tomorrow is the deadline to make a final decision on the 20-year-old midfielder for the tournament.
“We are running out of time, to be honest, as I haven’t heard anything yet in the last 24 hours. I’ve been trying to have constant contact with him and − as I say time is running out − we will probably make a decision by Monday (tomorrow),” he told a press conference after a friendly match between the Malaysia U-23 squad and Sabah FC at Stadium Likas here last night.
Maloney was hoping to include Wan Kuzri in the squad for Cambodia but apparently the player is facing some issues back in the US, leaving the coach no choice but to arrive at a decision on his inclusion by tomorrow as the AFF Under-23 championship is set to kick off on February 14.
In last night’s match, Malaysia U-23 drew 1-1 with Sabah FC, which saw the national side’s T. Saravanan scoring first in the 76th minute before Stuart Wilkins levelled for the hosts in the 81st minute.
Commenting on the squad’s performance in the friendly match, the Australian-born coach said overall he was very pleased with his boys, who played without fear and created lots of scoring chances as well as showing good chemistry amongst themselves.
“Still working on the first eleven as the team hasn’t been together that long − a lot of new players in this group. We have to try to give all the players an opportunity to earn a spot in the first eleven and in the final list as we continue to work on that for Cambodia,” he said.
The national U-23 squad, who have been drawn in Group B, will kick off their campaign against Myanmar on February 15, followed by Laos (February 18) before completing their group fixtures against Indonesia on February 21.
Meanwhile, Sabah FC head coach Datuk Ong Kim Swee credited the Malaysia U-23 team, who stood firm when facing more experienced players in the Sabah FC team.
The former Malaysia U-23 head coach said Maloney and the coaching staff in the national U-23 squad have vast experience and expertise in shaping the young talented Malaysian footballers in the team, thus able to bring the players to the next level.
When asked about the four Sabah FC players in the national U-23 squad, Kim Swee said playing at the international level would be a very good experience for the young players and he advised them to take that chance to improve themselves as footballers.
“Whether they make it to the final squad for Cambodia or not, they gain useful experience and exposure... when they come back and play for Sabah FC, their confidence level will be higher. Of course, I will give them a chance to play as they are in my plans for this season,” he said.
The four Sabah FC players are Mohd Nureizkhan Isa Japar, Gerald Gadit, Azhar Harraz Arman and Abdul Hanafie Tokyo Abdul Hasim.
On Sabah FC’s performance, Kim Swee said overall the team had shown improvement but still lacked on finishing upfront and he hoped two import strikers − namely Altemir Cordeiro Pessoa Neto, 27, from Brazil and Taiki Kagayama, 25, from Japan − could solve the problem.
“We have fixed a lot of weaknesses and the team played smoothly tonight (last night). We created a lot of chances but were unable to find the net... We have given local strikers a chance but they were unable to finish so we got imported strikers since local strikers can also learn from them.” – Bernama, February 6, 2022
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