Young guns: Youthful Mukhairi Ajmal Mahadi is still trying to fit into the AFF Cup training squad while Aliff Izwan (below) is a last minute inclusion for the team. — Photo by FAM
PETALING JAYA: National football head coach Kim Pan-gon has called up Under-23 footballer Aliff Izwan Yuslan to join the national training camp for the Asean Football Federation (AFF) Cup, replacing Terengganu winger Mohd Faiz Mohd Nasir, who was dropped due to health issues.
The Harimau Malaya squad are slated to play against Cambodia at National Stadium in Bukit Jalil tomorrow and then against the Maldives at the Kuala Lumpur Football Stadium in Cheras on Dec 14 in two Tier 1 International friendly matches.
For the 2022 AFF Cup, the national squad have been drawn in Group B and will play Myanmar in Yangon on Dec 21, Laos at Bukit Jalil (Dec 24), Vietnam in Hanoi (Dec 27) and Singapore at Bukit Jalil (Jan 3).
Meanwhile, Selangor midfielder Muhammad Mukhairi Ajmal Mahadi is still looking to find his rhythm after joining centralised training yesterday having just returned from an eight-day period of rest after playing in the 2022 Malaysia Cup final last month.
The 21-year-old said he would redouble his efforts to reach peak form for the two friendly matches and the AFF Cup.
“I want to give my all and if I’m chosen for my first AFF Cup, I’ll show what I can do. I really hope to be in the first eleven for every national assignment,” he said during a training session at Wisma FAM in Kelana Jaya. — Bernama
