Just 1 week before their October 10 match against Vietnam, the Malaysian coach summoned 25 players to the national team, including 4 forwards – Danial Amier, Norshahral Talaha, Shahrel Fikri, and Syafiq Ahmad.
The 24-year-old Ahmad appears to be at his peak, having scored in the two recent games against Indonesia and the UAE.
Coach Tan Cheng Hoe told the media that he frets about choosing forwards for the upcoming match. Talaha plays a key role in the squad despite an unimpressive performance so far, while younger Fikri, Amier, and Ahmad are able to create breakthroughs with their skillful ball handling.
"The next game is very important for Malaysia. We should focus on attacking in order to win and gain an upper hand in the third qualifying round," said coach Tan.
Malaysia is scheduled to play a friendly match against Sri Lanka on October 5 for a final rehearsal before travelling to Vietnam.
Coach Tan will possibly remove 1 striker and 1 midfielder to finalize the 23-player roster to represent Malaysia in the match against Vietnam.
“We have studied Vietnam thoroughly and we don’t need many strikers on the pitch. Our midfield will be the decisive factor in the next match, ” Tan said.
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