KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s quest for glory in the Asean Football Federation (AFF) Cup 2022 suffered a huge blow when defensive stalwart Dion Cools’ name was not included in the final 23-man squad announced by head coach Kim Pan-gon today.
The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), in a statement today, said that Cools, who plays for FK Jablonec in the Czech Republic’s top league, could not join up with the squad this time due to personal matters.
Cools was one of the 28 players called up for the centralised training camp, which began on November 29. The other four dropped were goalkeeper Azri Ab Ghani, midfielder Aliff Izwan Yuslan, and strikers M. Kogileswaran Raj and Ramadhan Saifullah Usman.
But it is the absence of Cools that is set to have a big impact on Harimau Malaya as they get ready for the AFF Cup 2022 campaign from December 20 to January 16.
Cools, 26, has played a crucial role in the backline since making his Harimau Malaya debut in the 2022 World Cup/2023 Asian Cup Qualifiers in June 2021.
The Kuching-born defender of mixed Belgian and Malaysian Chinese descent has since earned 12 caps for Harimau Malaya.
Meanwhile, naturalised players Lee Tuck and Sergio Aguero are set to make their Harimau Malaya debuts after being named in the final squad.
The duo will vie for a spot in attack with Muhammad Safawi Rasid, Mohamad Faisal Abdul Halim, Darren Lok, and Muhammad Haqimi Azim Rosli.
Malaysia will leave for Yangon on Monday (December 19), to begin their AFF Cup Group B campaign against Myanmar on Wednesday (December 21) before taking on Laos at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on December 24, Vietnam in Hanoi (December 27), and Singapore at Bukit Jalil (January 3).
If Pan-gon’s men can finish in the top two in Group B, they will qualify for the two-legged semi-finals on January 6-7 and January 9-10. As for the final, the first leg will be on January 13 and the return leg on January 16. – Bernama, December 16, 2022
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