SUBANG JAYA: Malaysian defender Ubaidullah Shamsul Fazili (pic) knows it will not be a walk in the park at the Asean Football Federation (AFF) Under-23 Championship in Indonesia from July 15-29.
Drawn into the challenging Group A alongside tournament hosts Indonesia, the Philippines and Brunei, the 21-year-old is bracing for a tough campaign – but he’s not backing down.
Instead of being overwhelmed, Ubaidullah is embracing the challenge as a learning experience.
“I would like to thank my coach Nafuzi Zain for giving me the opportunity to play. It is a great honour to represent the country, and I see this as a valuable chance to grow,” said Ubaidullah.
“I think the tournament will be an opportunity to gain valuable experience for our team as we will be facing teams that will parade quality players.
“Hopefully, this will also be a platform for us to improve ourselves in the game.”
Ubaidullah said the game against hosts Indonesian would be the most exciting.
“Indonesia will be making full use of their home advantage. The fans in this country are well know for their passion in the game.
“There surely will be some pressure considering Indonesia have quality players but we aim to enjoy the game and achieve good results.”
Ubaidullah added that he had been learning from his senior teammates, who have done well in recent tournaments, ahead of their games in Jakarta.
He had a chance to brush shoulders with the seniors as he stole the spotlight briefly when he was named man-of-the-match during an international friendly against Cape Verde at the Kuala Lumpur Football Stadium in Cheras last month, which ended in a 1-1 draw.
Ubaidullah stressed that having experience with the senior squad does not guarantee an automatic spot in this young squad.
“First of all, I was lucky to be selected for this camp. But there is no guarantee of final selection. I see two or three players vying for the same position in the team. So I’m taking it seriously to fight for a berth,” he said.
‘’I’m inspired by the seniors’ results. I will try to follow their lifestyle and disciplined routines to improve myself.”
