PUTRAJAYA – The national under-23 (U-23) squad will play at least five friendly matches as a warm-up for the U-23 Asian Cup campaign in Doha, Qatar from April 15 to May 3.
Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) secretary-general Datuk Noor Azman Rahman said the games involved India’s team (March 22 and 25), China (April 3), Qatar (April 6 or 7) and one more team, yet to be confirmed, for April 10 or 11.
Noor Azman said only the action against India will be held at home before Juan Torres Garrido’s men leave for Qatar on April 1.
“The U-23 team will gather on March 17 and play friendly matches against India on March 22 and 25 but the venue has not been decided yet.
“So far, the proposed venues included Kuala Lumpur Football Stadium, UiTM Shah Alam Stadium or UM Arena, but it will be a closed event,” he said.
He said this after attending the 10th Asian Football Confederation Women’s Football Day Celebration Ceremony at the Putrajaya Equestrian Park today.
Asked if the friendly actions are enough to ensure the U-23 squad shines in Qatar, which also offers a slot in the Paris Olympics 2024, Noor Azman is confident that it will definitely help them to increase their confidence to perform on the prestigious stage.
He also added that confirmation of the target and player selection depends entirely on the 44-year-old Spanish manager.
“Of course, every team dreams of going to round 16 and that’s what we are (targeting), but wait for the head coach or the management to give a statement.
“Regarding (national player Arif Aiman Hanapi) I touched a bit on the comment by FAM president Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin, that if he plays all matches, he will be stressed out…so let him focus on the national team,” he said.
Malaysia is drawn in Group D with Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Kuwait and only the top two teams from the group will advance to the quarter-finals.
Meanwhile, FAM Women’s Football Committee chairman Datuk Suraya Yaacob said that the National Women’s League season 2024 will be enlivened with the participation of 10 teams, using “home and away” method with a total of 90 matches.
Suraya said her priority at the moment is to ensure that all teams have good operations rather than introducing a quota of imported players, which is likely to be introduced in the future. – March 10, 2024