PETALING JAYA: Judge us the same, not differently.
Malaysian captain and rightback Matthew Davies (pic) has urged people to view every player in the team equally without looking at their roots, whether they are naturalised, mixed-heritage players or locals.
The Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) player shared his excitement and the expectation of fans with the inclusion of mixed-heritage players in the national squad for the 2027 Asian Cup third-round qualifiers game against Nepal at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Iskandar Puteri today.
“We do not like to say that we are ‘kacukan’ (mixed-heritage) or naturalised players. When we play, we play as Malaysians, wearing the same national jersey,” said Matthew, whose mother is from Malaysia, while his father hails from Australia.
“Whether you are a young Malay boy from Kuala Lumpur or a naturalised Spanish player, we are judged at the same level, by our performance.”
In the current call-up, two new mixed-heritage players had joined the team and they are midfielder Hector Havel (Dutch-Malaysian) and leftback Gabriel Palmero (Spanish-Malaysian).
Matthew, who has won 55 caps for Malaysia, added that the players should not see themselves as a club player, but as an individual who wants to do their best for the nation.
“There are no talks of JDT, Terengganu, Selangor in this squad ... just one team.”
Asked whether the JDT player had an advantage playing in the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium, he said: “Everyone in the team has played here before.
“We are comfortable at this stadium,” added Matthew, who will have to fight for the right to play with players such as Selangor wingback Quentin Cheng and Buriram United wingback Dion Cools.
As for the game against Nepal, Matthew said the boys were in good shape despite the short preparation time.
“Eight days is a short time but we learnt a lot and worked hard. We want to start positively and in the end, qualify for the Asian Cup for the second consecutive time on merit.”
