BY ZULHILMI ZAINAL Follow on Twitter
Malaysia U-22 head coach Datuk Ong Kim Swee has listed 25 names for his side's next training camp, ahead of the 2020 AFC U-23 Championship qualifying round in March.
The training camp, which will begin in Kelana Jaya on January 9 and culminate in a January 13-19 trip to Bangkok to play in three friendly matches, however will not be joined by several of their key players.
For example, the names of Akhyar Rashid, Safawi Rasid, Syahmi Safari and Syamer Kutty Abba, who recently turned out for the Malaysia senior team in the 2018 AFF Championship, are absent from the list. Also left out from the list were defender Dominic Tan and goalkeeper Haziq Nadzli, two players from the previous squad which reached the quarter-finals of the 2018 edition, who are still eligible for the next cycle.
However, according to Kim Swee, this camp has been arranged with the emphasis of providing more opportunities for the new faces to prove themselves.
"This (the camp) will provide a better picture and the chance to try out more combinations before the final camp is arranged in March for the AFC qualifiers, which will include Safawi, Syahmi, Syamer Kutty, Haziq, Dominic and the rest," he wrote on his Twitter account.
Furthermore, it is believed that Syahmi, Akhyar, Safawi and Syamer have been left out in order to allow them to join their respective clubs' pre-season preparations. Many of the Malaysia internationals only joined their clubs' pre-season training in the past week, having been given a break after helping the national team reach second place in the AFF Championship.
The 25-man training camp list:
NO. |
NAME |
CLUB |
1. |
DANIEL AMIER NORHISHAM |
FELDA UNITED FC |
2. |
MUHAMMAD ZAHRIL AZRI |
FELDA UNITED FC |
3. |
MUHAMMAD AZRI AB GHANI |
FELDA UNITED FC |
4. |
AZARUL NAZARITH |
FELDA UNITED FC |
5. |
MOHAMAD HARIZ KAMARUDIN |
JOHOR DARUL TA’ZIM II |
6. |
MOHD FAZRUL DANEL MOHD NIZAM |
KEDAH |
7. |
NIK AKIF SYAHIRAN NIK MAT |
KELANTAN |
8. |
MUHAMMAD DANIAL HAQIM DRAMAN |
KELANTAN |
9. |
MOHAMAD SHARUL NIZAM ROS HASNI |
KELANTAN |
10. |
MUHAMMAD SYAIFUL ALIAS |
KELANTAN |
11. |
AFIQ SALUDDIN |
KELANTAN |
12. |
MUHD JUZAERUL JASMI |
KELANTAN |
13. |
MUHAMMAD DANISH HAZIQ SAIPUL HISHAM |
NEGERI SEMBILAN |
14. |
KOGILESWARAN RAJ |
PAHANG |
15. |
MOHD FAISAL ABDUL HALIM |
PAHANG |
16. |
MUHAMMAD NAZIRUL AFIF IBRAHIM |
PERAK |
17. |
DAMIEN LIM CHIEN KHAI |
PKNS |
18. |
ARIFF AR RASYID ARIFFIN |
PKNS |
19. |
MUHAMMAD JAFRI CHEW |
PKNS |
20. |
ARIUSDIUS JAIS |
SABAH |
21. |
EVAN WENSLEY WENCESLAUS |
SABAH |
22. |
JORDON OLLERENSHAW |
SABAH |
23. |
MUHAMMAD AMIRUL HAZIQ RASMIZAL |
SELANGOR |
24. |
MUHAMMAD IZZAN SYAHMI MUSTAPA |
TERENGGANU |
25. |
KHATUL ANUAR MD JALIL |
KUALA LUMPUR |
Most recently, Kim Swee's charges finished the 2018 Newspaper Cup in third place.
In the 2020 edition qualifiers, Malaysia have been drawn in Group J alongside China, Laos and the Philippines, with the six matches set to be held in Malaysia. Group winners will earn automatic spots in the finals, alongside four best second-place finishers.
The finals, set to be held in Thailand in January 2020, will see the top three finishers also qualifying to the 2020 Olympics.
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