KUALA LUMPUR - The presence of the four overseas-based players means national football head coach Tan Cheng Hoe finally has all the “ingredients” he needs to prepare a strong squad for the second round of the 2022 World Cup/2023 Asian Cup Qualifiers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) next month.
KV Kortrijk striker Luqman Hakim Shamsudin was the last player to join the national centralised training camp, which began in Dubai, UAE yesterday, ahead of their friendlies against Kuwait and Bahrain before resuming their Group G matches in the qualifiers.
Liridon Krasniqi (Newcastle Jets), Dominic Tan (Police Tero FC) and Junior Eldstal (Chonburi FC) joined the national team in Dubai yesterday.
This is the first time since November 2019 that Cheng Hoe has managed to get all his players together. It also marked the first time that the 52-year-old coach is reunited with Liridon, who played for him when he coached Kedah previously.
Cheng Hoe is confident that the 29-year-old Liridon, having played in the Malaysia League (M-League) before, would be able to live up to expectations and deliver the goods in the qualifiers.
The coach, however, stressed that everyone in the team, including Liridon, would come under scrutiny in the two friendlies as he sizes up his players for the crucial Group G matches against the UAE, Vietnam and Thailand.
“I think the players know that the challenge this time is different as we are far away from home and we won't have our loyal supporters backing us. So, the players will have to be mentally and physically strong for the three remaining matches,” he said at a virtual press conference.
Cheng Hoe was also full of praise for the facilities provided to them, both in terms of accommodation and training venue, in Dubai and hoped that his players would quickly acclimatise themselves with the weather condition there.
Meanwhile, Liridon said he was honoured to finally join the team for the first time since becoming a naturalised player in February last year.
“I’m very excited to see the guys again after a few months. Training has been very good and, so far, I’m feeling good,” he said, adding that he does not see his status as a naturalised player and playing abroad being an advantage to making the starting line-up.
“From what I’ve seen in training, we have a very competitive squad. Everybody can be the first choice and nobody should think he is guaranteed a starting spot,” he said.
The national squad will face Kuwait in Dubai and Bahrain in Manama on May 23 and 28 respectively before kicking off their remaining Group G qualifying campaign against the UAE on June 3, Vietnam (June 11) and Thailand (June 15). - Bernama. May 22, 2021
