Only two substitutions were used in Vietnam when Malaysia were one goal behind and needed to chase the game. There were no additional strikers being thrown onto the pitch, quite simply because there were none available on the bench. Norshahrul Idlan Talaha and Syafiq Ahmad both started in the 1-0 defeat with the former taken off midway through the second half.
One of the options that could have been used was Perak's Shahrel, who starred in the Preliminary Round One of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, albeit against lesser opponents in Timor Leste. Dropped prior to the journey to Hanoi because of an injury, Shahrel has once again found himself back in the training squad ahead of the next set of fixtures.
"First of all, I want to thank coach Tan Cheng Hoe. Because after the match against Vietnam, he constantly checked up with me and asked about my fitness. He told me that he wants me in the squad and wants me to get back to my best. Now I'm at my 80% and I'll be using the coming trainings to get the remaining 20%.
Next matches
"We know that we do not have many options in attack. We have Syafiq, Mat Yo and myself. It's not easy to break into the first XI but if the coach gives me a chance, of course I'll take it. I'm aiming to play in this friendly and to prove that like I can also score," said Shahrel.
Having found his strikeforce to look so tame against The Golden Dragons, it remains to be seen what plans Cheng Hoe has for the back-to-back home matches against Thailand and Indonesia at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium. And the Malaysia head coach could be looking at the international friendly against Tajikistan this Saturday as a stage for experimentation.
Thus far Norshahrul has been the preferred selection as the main striker in a 4-2-3-1 system that Cheng Hoe employs with Syafiq operating right behind Norshahrul. The return of midfielder Nor Azam Azih and the inclusion of Baddrol Bakhtiar and Afiq may lend to the change in that selection.
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