BY ZULHILMI ZAINAL Follow on Twitter
Selangor are expected to lose the services of new Indonesian signings Evan Dimas Darmono and Ilham Udin Armaiyn, barely a week after they finally joined the Red Giants' pre-season training.
The duo have been listed by the Indonesian FA (PSSI) in the Indonesia Selection side that will take on the Iceland national team, which will make their first ever World Cup appearance later this year. The friendly match is set to be held on Sunday January 14, at the Maguwoharjo Stadium in Yogyakarta.
The duo only arrived in Malaysia last Friday although their signings had been confirmed by the club in early December, following a protracted dispute between the club and PSSI.
In the list issued early Wednesday morning, Evan and Ilham have been called up to the 24-man side alongside their predecessor at Selangor; Andik Vermansah. The winger is currently a free agent after parting ways with Selangor at the end of the 2017 season.
The Indonesian side meanwhile will be coached by former Kedah and Sarawak boss Robert Alberts. The Dutch trainer is currently the head coach of Indonesia's Liga 1 club PSM Makassar.
The pair are expected to return to Indonesia for match preparations after Selangor's pre-season friendly match against Terengganu II, which will be played on Wednesday evening.
PSSI earlier refused to let Evan and Ilham leave Indonesia to join Selangor as they had been worried that the club would not release the players for Indonesia's 2018 Asian Cup campaign, which they will host later this year. The pair were only allowed to join Selangor after the club agreed to release them to PSSI when needed, although the football competition of the Asian Cup is not part of the official FIFA calendar. The match against Iceland too is not part of the FIFA calendar.
