KUALA LUMPUR – National football player Faisal Halim could not hold back his tears after learning that he would not be able to contribute to Malaysia’s campaign in this year’s Merdeka tournament.
The 26-year-old winger, who recently returned to action for Selangor FC after an acid attack in May, was not included in national head coach Pau Marti Vicente’s 26-player squad for this year’s tournament.
Faisal, who has made a total of 32 appearances and scored 15 goals for the Harimau Malaya since making his debut in 2019, said he was ready to earn more game time for the Red Giants and improve his fitness to be on Vicente’s radar for future tournaments.
“Alhamdulillah, I have already started playing again. I have been missing the moments of playing for Harimau Malaya. I met coach Vicente, and he told me that he’s not going to rush me back into the team, but if I’m ready, he will definitely call.
“He said he wanted to give me the time and space to recover, and for sure, as a player, I would love to support coach Vicente in the upcoming tournaments. I’ve known him for two years, and I know exactly what he wants.
“I’m sad that I couldn’t be with the team this time, especially after going through so many years of training at the Football Association of Malaysia’s (FAM) training field. Today, I’m here to see my friends train,” said Faisal during his surprise visit to Wisma FAM yesterday.
At the same time, Faisal also said that he would be rallying behind the Harimau Malaya when the Merdeka tournament kicks off at the Bukit Jalil National Football Stadium next week.
“I will always be there for the team, and I will definitely make sure to attend the matches if I’m not tied up with other matters.
“Even during the World Cup qualifiers, I supported the team and watched the matches from the hospital,” Faisal added.
The majority of the players selected by Vicente for the Merdeka tournament are from Johor Darul Ta’zim FC, including Syihan Hazmi, Matthew Davies, Feroz Baharudin, Afiq Faizal, Corbin-Ong, Arif Aiman and Romel Morales.
Four players each are from Terengganu FC (Safawi Rashid, Akhyar Rashid, Safwan Mazlan and Azam Azmi), Kuala Lumpur City FC (Azri Ghani, Zhafri Yahya, Paulo Josue and Haqimi Azim), and three from Sabah FC (Dominic Tan, Daniel Ting and Darren Lok). Additionally, there are two players each from Selangor FC (Nooa Laine and Harith Haiqal), Kedah FC (Kalamullah Al-Hafiz and Syafiq Ahmad), and Penang FC (Syamer Kutty and Adib Abdul Raop).
Vicente also selected one player from Ho Chi Minh City FC (Endrick Dos Santos) and one from Buriram United FC (Dion Cools).
This year’s tournament is scheduled to take place from September 4 to 8.
The tournament will feature Malaysia, Lebanon, the Philippines and defending champions Tajikistan. – August 30, 2024