Hadin Azman, Malaysia, 06112017Zulhilmi Zainal

Hadin ready to fight for place in Vingada's squad


BY        ZULHILMI ZAINAL       Follow on Twitter


Felda United winger Hadin Azman is determined to prove his capabilities, when he was called up at the last minute by Malaysia head coach Nelo Vingada for their matches against DPR Korea.

He was called up on Monday, just one day before the team is supposed to leave for the ties, as replacement for Kedah winger Baddrol Bakhtiar who had been injured in the Malaysia Cup final on Saturday. It was his first call-up in over half a year, after last playing for the Malayan Tigers in their 0-0 friendly match draw on March 22 this year, back then under former Malaysia boss Dato' Ong Kim Swee.

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Since then, the 23-year old focused his attention solely on club football, helping the Fighters finish the 2017 Super League in third place and reach the Malaysia Cup semi-finals.

But now that he's back in the national team, Hadin is ready to cement his place under the Portuguese coach, while remarking that Malaysia's chances against the hermit kingdom as are still good.

"I have to thank the coach for giving me a chance to prove what I can do. The national team have been improving, so I will do my best if I am fielded.

"I still need to compete with other players such as Wan Zack [Haikal Wan Noor] and Safawi [Rasid], so my place is not guaranteed and I have to fight for it.

"In my opinion it will be an even match, if the newly called-up players can combine well with the more-established squad members," said Hadin when met by the press after training with the Malaysia team on Monday.

Malaysia's Asian Cup qualification Group B matches against DPR Korea will be held at the designated neutral venue I-Mobile Stadium on November 10 and 13 respectively, with DPR Korea as the designated hosts for the earlier clash, and Malaysia 'hosting' the latter encounter.

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