KUALA LUMPUR – Kim Pan-gon has continued experimenting with his squad selection as the Malaysia coach announced the players called up for centralised training ahead of this month’s 2026 World Cup and 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers against Kyrgyzstan and Taiwan.
Based on the 25-player list for centralised training starting this Friday, the South Korean made a shock move by calling up naturalised player Mohamadou Sumareh, who last donned the Malaysia jersey in the King’s Cup in Thailand in September last year.
Pan-gon also finally acceded to pressure from fans and several local football observers by selecting Johor Darul Ta’zim midfielder Mohd Afiq Fazail.
Sumareh and Afiq, who were once JDT teammates, were among five players to return to the national squad, besides Negeri Sembilan FC goalkeeper Sikh Izhan Nazrel Sikh Azman and two JDT defenders, Shahrul Saad and Muhammad Syahmi Safari.
Pan-gon retained 20 players from the squad for last month’s Merdeka Cup, where Malaysia lost to Tajikistan in the final, to the centralised camp for the qualifiers.
Among those retained were captain Dion Cools, Arif Aiman Mohd Hanapi, Muhammad Safawi Rasid, Mohamad Faisal Abdul Halim, Brendan Gan, Dominic Tan, Darren Lok, Paulo Josue and Junior Eldstal.
“Two players, Syamer Kutty Abba and Nor Azam Abdul Azih could not be called up due to injuries,” according to a statement from the Football Association of Malaysia today.
Malaysia will play Kyrgyzstan at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium on November 16 before travelling to Taipei for the fixture against Taiwan on November 21 in the mission to qualify for the Asian Cup for the second time in a row, besides advancing further in the hunt for a slot to the World Cup.
Joining Malaysia, Kyrgyzstan and Taiwan in Group D of the qualifiers are Oman.
Malaysia players called up for centralised training: Ahmad Syihan Hazmi Mohamed, Matthew Davies, La’vere Corbin Ong, Endrick dos Santos, Arif Aiman Mohd Hanapi, Muhammad Safawi Rasid, Muhammad Akhyar Abdul Rashid, Shahrul Mohd Saad, Muhammad Syahmi Safari, Mohd Afiq Fazail, Mohamadou Sumareh, Shahrul Nazeem Zulpakar, Brendan Gan, Mohamad Faisal Abdul Halim, Muhammad Mukhairi Ajmal Mahadi, Dominic Tan, Stuart Wilkin, Darren Lok, Paulo Josue, Muhammad Azri Ab Ghani, Muhammad Azam Azmi Murad, Sikh Izhan Nazrel Sikh Azman, Dion Cools, Junior Eldstal, Nooa Laine
– November 6, 2023