Faisal the only Malaysian named in AFC’s best 11

DOHA: The country’s top striker Faisal Halim was the only Malaysian player listed in the best 11 of the 2023 Asian Cup competition after the third group matches ended.

Faisal who scored one of Harimau Malaya’s equaliser in the sensational 3-3 draw against South Korea in their final Group E match at the Al-Janoub Stadium, here, had also placed himself among the top three strikers in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) top choice of players.

The 26-year-old Selangor striker’s goal was also the first scored in the country’s 2023 Asian Cup campaign.

Apart from Faisal, others in the list of strikers are Iraq’s Aymen Hussein, the current leading top scorer in the tournament with five goals, and Japan’s Ayase Ueda who has three goals under his belt.

Thailand’s goalkeeper Saranon Anuin earned the credit of being the person in-charge between the posts while the best defenders named in the list are Palestine skipper Mus’ab Al Battat, Saudi Arabia’s Abdullah Al Khaibari and Farruh Sayfiyev from Uzbekistan.

Four players picked to handle the engine room of the team were South Korea’s Lee Kang-in, Parvizdzhon Umarbayev (Taji–kistan), Mehdi Taremi (Iran) and Iraq’s Ali Jassim.

Malaysia featured in the Asian Cup for the fourth time after participating in the 1976 edition hosted by Iran, 1980 in Kuwait and when playing host in 2007. — Bernama