Driven to succeed: Kim Pan-gon with a car at the Football Association of Malaysia. — Bernama
PETALING JAYA: The King’s Cup taking place in Chiangmai later this month offers head coach Kim Pang-gon the chance to test out new players for the Harimau Malaya before their big test at the AFF Cup in December.
In the draw conducted for the quadrangular tournament yesterday, Malaysia will play their first match against hosts Thailand on Sept 22.
Malaysia will then face either Trinidad and Tobago or Tajikistan on Sept 25.
It will be a good test for Pan-gon’s side to take on higher ranked opponents.
Malaysia are ranked 147th in the world but Trinidad and Tobago are ranked 101st in the world.
Tajikistan and hosts Thailand are ranked 108th and 111th respectively.
Malaysia emerged as champions in four editions of the King’s Cup previously - in 1972, 1976, 1977 and 1978.
The Football Association of Malaysia yesterday announced eight new players among the 25 who were called up for the training camp for the King’s Cup.
Three players below 21 years of age invited are Terengganu’s goalkeeper Rahadiazli Rahalim, Azam Azmi Murad and Selangor’s Mukhairi Ajmal Mahadi. Also in the squad are Sharul Nazeem Zulpakar; Kuala Lumpur’s Zhafri Yahya, Declan Lambert; and another goalkeeper Kalamullah Al-Hafiz Mat Rowi (PJ City).
Selangor’s inspirational player Brendan Gan, who recovered from a career-threatening injury, will also make a comeback to the national team while age seems to have caught up with Johor Darul Ta’zim goalkeeper Farizal Marlias.
The 36-year-old Farizal, who was the No. 1 choice for Malaysia during the Asian Cup qualifiers in June, has been moved to the reserve list while Pang-gon tries out the two younger goalkeepers.
JDT still top the list with nine players getting the call-up, including 20-year Arif Aiman Hanapi, who scored the first goal in their 3-1 win over Terengganu in the FA Cup final last Saturday.
Pang-gon is expected to use this opportunity to put new players to the test and let them adapt to his style of pressing game seen during the Asian Cup qualifiers.
The South Korean, who first arrived in Malaysia at the beginning of the year, has visited stadiums around the country to observe the local players in the domestic league.
He has also been constantly updated on the progress of the national Under-23 squad.
His assistant E. Elavarasan has been recently appointed as the head coach of the national Under-23 squad.
“After qualifying for the 2023 Asian Cup in June, we had to continue to focus and look ahead,” said Pan-gon.
“This King’s Cup will be a useful tournament for us before the AFF Cup as we prepare for the Asian Cup next year.
“We want to get good results in Chiangmai but I also want to use the opportunity to refine the pattern and philosophy of our game,” added Pang-gon.
TRAINING SQUAD
Shahrul Mohd Saad (JDT), La’vere Lawrence Corbin-Ong (JDT), Nazmi Faiz (JDT), Arif Aiman Mohd Hanapi (JDT), Safawi Rasid (JDT), Mohd Akhyar Abdul Rashid (JDT), Mohamadou Sumareh (JDT), Matthew Davies (JDT), Syafiq Ahmad (JDT), Sharul Nazeem Zulpakar (Sel), Brendan Gan (Sel), Mohd Mukhairi Ajmal Mahadi (Sel), Faisal Abdul Halim (Ter), Rahadiazli Rahalim (Ter), Mohd Azam Azmi Murad (Ter), Kalamullah Al-Hafiz Mat Rowi (PJ City), Darren Lok (PJ City), V. Ruventhiran (PJ City), Ahmad Khuzaimi Piee (Negri),Ahmad Syihan Hazmi Mohd (Negri), Zhafri Yahya (KL), Declan Lambert (KL), Dominic Tan (Sab), Mohd Nor Azam Abdul Azih (Pahang), Dion Cools (FK Jablonec).
