KUALA LUMPUR – National team coach Tan Cheng Hoe is looking to sort out the team’s issue with finding a replacement goalkeeper for the 2020 AFF Cup in the next few days after being given the green light by the Asean Football Federation (AFF).
Cheng Hoe said that he is currently in talks with his coaching staff to decide which goalkeeper should replace Muhammad Khairulazhan Mohd Khalid after the footballer tested positive for Covid-19 in Singapore. Another national player who also tested positive was winger Muhammad Faisal Abdul Halim.
Both players showed no symptoms and are currently undergoing a ten-day quarantine with daily Covid-19 tests being administered in accordance with Singapore Health Ministry protocols.
“We have yet to confirm the player, but it will be done in the next couple of days.
Since competition rules do not allow for the replacement of players after registration has been closed, it does however allow for a change involving the goalkeeper position, so Cheng Hoe said that the priority was to find a replacement for Khairulazhan but not for Muhammad Faisal.
“Our goalkeeper position is a concern, especially after Khairul Fahmi Che Mat received a yellow card during yesterday’s match against Cambodia.
“As for Muhammad Faisal, we still have other players in the squad who can fill the role,” he said during a virtual press conference today.
Meanwhile, Cheng Hoe was happy with the performance of his charges against Cambodia, although he admitted that the national squad were struggling in the first ten to 15 minutes.
“The players showed commitment and that was key in our victory against Cambodia. The boys are in high spirits, and it was a good start for us in the tournament,” he said.
Cheng Hoe added there is no friction between the players in the dressing room after reports claimed that naturalised striker Guilherme De Paula was unhappy with being a substitute.
There were also reports claiming that Malaysia’s goal scorer Muhammad Akhyar Abdul Rashid said that local players are trying to prove a point in Singapore.
“So far, there is no problem in the dressing room, and I believe there won’t be any problem. It is normal for players to show their frustrations, but all is well.
“The boys are united in preparing for our second match against Laos on Thursday,” Cheng Hoe said.
At the same time, the 53-year-old Kedahan said that the team requires some improvements – especially in the midfield section – which needs to solve the problem of counter attacks like what the team faced yesterday with Cambodia.
“We will look into it and plan for our match against Laos. As it appears tricky, we will look at how they played their first match and plan accordingly,” he said. – The Vibes, December 7, 2021
