Eki among three dropped for Thailand and Indonesia matches
PETALING JAYA: Perak striker Muhammad Shahrel Fikri Md Fauzi was among three players dropped by national head coach, Tan Cheng Hoe ahead of two crucial home matches against Thailand and Indonesia in the 2022 World Cup / 2023 Asia Cup Group G qualifying campaign.
The list of the 23 national squad players was announced by Cheng Hoe in a statement released by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) today.
The 25-year-old Muhammad Shahrel Fikri or better known as Eki, who bagged a hat-trick when the national squad defeated Timor Leste 5-1 in the second leg of the play-offs qualifiers in June, was dropped together with winger Muhammad Farhan Roslan and Nazirul Naim Che Hashim (defender).
Without Muhammad Shahrel Fikri in the team, Cheng Hoe would now be banking on experienced striker Norshahrul Idlan Talaha and Muhammad Syafiq Ahmad in the mission to get six points from the Nov 14 and 19 matches at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium.
“Eki (Muhammad Shahrel) has been injured for some time and we need a player with 100 per cent fitness which is why he is not listed, and as for Nazirul, we have Syazwan (Muhammad Syazwan Andik Mohd Ishak) in that position.
“Farhan has the potential and a bright future with the national squad but it is not easy for him to adapt to the team’s gameplay in a short time,” Cheng Hoe said when met by reporters at a national team training session at Wisma FAM in Kelana Jaya here today.
Malaysia currently stand in fourth place with three points in Group G and are four points behind group leader, Thailand who are level on seven points with Vietnam.
Malaysia began their campaign with a 3-2 victory over Indonesia in Jakarta last September, before losing 1-2 to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Bukit Jalil and 0-1 to Vietnam in Hanoi last month.
Following are the 23 players selected by Cheng Hoe for the two matches against Thailand and Indonesia:
Goalkeepers: Mohd Farizal Marlias, Muhammad Haziq Nadzli, Mohd Khairulazhan Mohd Khalid;
Defenders: Adam Nor Azlin, Mohamad Aidil Zafuan Abd Radzak, La’vere Corbin-Ong, Matthew Davies, Shahrul Mohd Saad, Muhammad Syahmi Safari, Dominic Tan Jun Jin;
Midfielders: Mohamed Syamer Kutty Abba, Mohd Afiq Fazail, Muhamad Nor Azam Abdul Azih, Brendan Gan, Baddrol Bakhtiar, Muhammad Danial Amier Norhisham, Mohd Azzizan Nordin;
Wingers: Muhammad Safawi Rasid, Muhammad Akhyar Abdul Rashid, Muhammad Syazwan Andik Mohd Ishak, Mohamadou Sumareh;
Strikers: Muhammad Syafiq Ahmad; Norshahrul Idlan Talaha.
— BERNAMA
