Maloney drops eight, calls up five new faces for U-23 Asian Cup Qualifiers training

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 29  -- Eight players have been dropped while five new faces have been called up to attend Phase 2 of the national Under-20 training camp ahead of the AFC Under-23 Asian Cup Qualifiers in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia next month.

This completes the 25-player list named by national Under-20 head coach Brad Maloney, who hopes to find the best combination before finalising the 23-man squad for the qualifiers from Oct 25-31.

The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), in a statement today, said the five new faces called up were Ahmad Zikri Mohd Khalili, Muhammad Aidil Azuan (Selangor FC 2); Nik Akif Syahiran Nik Mat, Muhammad Azam Azmi Murad (Terengganu FC); and K. Thivandaran (Petaling Jaya City FC). 

Meanwhile, among the 16 players retained  included Muhamad Umar Hakeem Suhar Rezwan (Johor Darul Ta'zim II); Syed Muhammad Nasrulhaq Syed Bidin (Terengganu FC II); Muhammad Azri Ab Ghani (Perak FC); and Azhad Harraz Arman (FAM-NSC Project Squad).

"The squad will undergo Phase 2 centralised training at the National Sports Council (NSC) Field in Bukit Jalil before the final 23-man squad leave for Mongolia on Oct 20,” the statement added.

It added that the final list would include four national players, namely Mukhairi Ajmal Mahadi (Selangor FC), Muhammad Hakimi Abdullah (Terengganu FC), Quentin Cheng (Penang FC) and Luqman Hakim Shamsudin (KV Kortrijk).

These four players are expected to join the national Under-20 squad after completing their duty with the national senior squad, who have two Tier 1 international friendlies against Jordan on Oct 6 and Uzbekistan on Oct 9.

In the AFC Under-23 Asian Cup Qualifiers, Malaysia have been drawn in Group J and will meet Laos on Oct 25, followed by hosts Mongolia on Oct 28 and Thailand on Oct 31.

Following is the list of 25 players called up for training for the AFC Under-23 Asian Cup Qualifiers

-- BERNAMA