Players who’ve earned their stripes on current form should be Harimau’s top picks

BEFORE walking into the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) headquarters for the latest Harimau Malaya squad announcement, I did what I always do – pause at the photo wall just outside the auditorium.

There’s one frame that always gets me. It’s from the 2018 AFF Suzuki Cup where you see faces contorted in joy after a hard-earned goal.

That was also my first year covering the national football team for The Star.

It wasn’t a perfect team, but it was one picked on conviction. Players were selected on form, fitness, and hunger. Some were even plying their trade abroad in tougher leagues.

Fast forward to 2025. Malaysian football has improved in many ways as they have better facilities, fitter athletes, and sharper tactical set-ups. But when it comes to national squad selection, something feels ... off.

This latest Harimau Malaya call-up has triggered questions and rightly so.

Some names on the list were puzzling. Not because of a lack of ability, but because their inclusion seems disconnected from current performance. Take Junior Eldstal, an influential leader, no doubt, but a player who has barely featured for Johor Darul Ta’zim.

Or Nathaniel Shio Hong Wan, included just as he’s returning from injury. Surprising choices for a squad supposedly based on readiness and performance.

Then there are those left out or left on standby, who have done everything right.

Pahang’s midfield workhorse Ibrahim Manusi has been one of the Super League’s standout performers. Adam Nor Azlin has reinvented himself as a composed, intelligent centreback.

Ramadhan Saifullah has been a livewire for Kuching City, helping them finish fourth and yet not a single player from the Borneo outfit has made the squad, or even the standby list.

Why? What more do they need to prove?

Ryan Lambert, a box-to-box engine, has quietly proven his consistency, aggression, and tactical discipline - the very traits head coach Peter Cklamovski has been preaching. But he’s nowhere to be seen.

The familiar explanation from coaches is that “It’s not just about stats, it’s about chemistry, mentality, and tactical fit.”

Fair enough. International football is about more than just numbers. It’s about roles, adaptability, and game intelligence.

But that cannot become an excuse to bypass merit.

Right now, the balance between tactical suitability and current form seems skewed. And that’s concerning, especially when the current window is an ideal one for experimentation.

With friendlies against Cape Verde ahead of the crucial Asian Cup qualifier against Vietnam on June 10, this was the moment to test new combinations, reward domestic form, and build depth.

Instead, the selections feel safe. Predictable. Risk-averse. It looks like the coaching staff are playing not to lose, even when there’s nothing on the line.

That’s not how depth is built. That’s not how you send a message to local players that hard work and form are rewarded.

And that’s the core issue here – meritocracy.

When players in form aren’t called up, when consistent club performers are sidelined, what message is being sent to the rest of the league? That current form doesn’t matter? That selections are based on familiarity, not performance?

Tan Cheng Hoe, now the national team’s technical director, recently said that “young players need to work harder to make the squad.”

Many are already doing just that, often in a volatile footballing landscape. But they’re human. And patience, eventually, runs thin.

The 2018 squad, immortalised on FAM’s hallway wall, earned their spot. In doing so, they earned something else – trust. They made Malaysians believe again.

That trust is at risk when merit is no longer the benchmark.

Let’s be clear, this call-up isn’t entirely unjustified. Every player named has something to offer.

And to Cklamovski’s credit, his openness in explaining selections is welcome. But transparency alone doesn’t build trust. Merit does.

If not now, then when?

Because if this pattern of overlooking form in favour of familiarity continues, we will keep getting the same results.

And worse, we’ll lose the one thing no team can afford to lose – belief.