PETALING JAYA, May 19 — National head coach Datuk Ong Kim Swee today listed 11 new players as part of his transition plan for the National team (Harimau Malaysia) squad.

Many parties had called for a total overhaul of the National squad after registering several disappointing results in the qualifying round of the 2018 World Cup/2019 Asia Cup, which sent Malaysia’s world ranking down to 174th — the worst for the country so far.

Kim Swee has quickly sprang into action to stop the rot and when met by Bernama recently said: “The transition I am looking will take some time, there are short and long-term plans (in place).”

A blend of 14 existing players and 11 new ones in the 25-man squad in the class A international friendly against Myanmar on May 28, and their first round play-off for the Asian Cup qualifiers against Timor Leste on June 2 and 6, would be proof of the effectiveness of the transition.

“Only 14 of the 25 players from the squad that lost 0-2 to Saudi Arabia and drew 0-0 with Macau in March, have been retained. As I said previously, the transition will take place. The players are selected based on their current form and I believe the squad this time is more balanced, not only in terms of performance, but also age.

“All the players have to report for training at Wisma FAM on Sunday except 10 Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) players who will report on May 26, a day after the second round of the AFC Cup,” he said during FAM’s monthly press conference at Wisma FAM, here, today.

The Harimau Malaysia squad will head to Yangon on May 27 for a friendly against Myanmar, before returning to Johor Baharu for a two-legged play-off against Timor Leste at the Larkin Stadium.

The squad will then make use of the break during the Ramadan month by organising a 17-day Oceania Tour, for friendlies against Papua New Guinea (June 17), New Caledonia (June 22) and Fiji (June 26), and attend a training camp in Brisbane, Australia, to prepare for the AFF Suzuki Cup later this year.

The eleven new faces called up to the national team by the 46-year-old coach include two young strikers, namely S. Kumaahran and Ahmad Hazwan Bakri, who are expected to shore up the attack.

“I believe the transition of players like Kumaahran from the Harimau Muda squad who plays for Penang will be an opportunity for the player to show his mettle in the match against Myanmar and Timor Leste as well as the Oceania Tour, where we have six games.

“For strikers who have been kept (in the squad) such as Amri Yahyah, I believe they can perform well in the international stage. Despite playing ‘on and off’, Amri has played more often, and when playing at the international level, he is able to provide a greater impact, even though he is 35 years old,” said Kim Swee.

He also urged players in the M-League, including those who are not in the waiting list, to be ready to be called-up to the national squad if their services are required.

In addition to Kumaahran and Ahmad Hazwan, the other new faces in the squad are Mohd Amirulhadi Zainal, Putera Nadher Amarhan Maderner, Muhammad Fazly Mazlan, Khair Muhammad Jefri Jones, Ahmad Fakri Saarani, Abdul Latiff Suhaimi, D. Christie Jayaseelan, S. Chanthuru and R. Gopinathan.

The 14 players retained are Mohd Izham Tarmizi Roslan, Mohamad Aidil Zafuan Abd Razak, Mohamad Fadhli Mohd Shas, S. Kunanlan, Safiq Rahim, Mohd Amri Yahyah, Muhammad Shahrom Abdul Kalam, Mohd Azrif Nasrulhaq Badrul Hisham, Mohd Farhan Abu Bakar, Baddrol Bakhtiar, Mohamad Amirul Hisyam Awang Kechik, Khairul Fahmi Che Mat, Brendan Gan Seng Ling, and Matthew Thomas Davies.

In the event of injuries, nine players on the waiting list, namely Wan Zack Haikal Wan Nor, Wan Zaharulnizam Wan Zakaria, Norshahrul Idlan Talha, Adam Nor Azlin, Mohd Khairulazhan Mohd Khalid, S. Veenod, Mohd Rizal Mohd Ghazali, Muhammad Hadin Azman and Mohd Azinee Taib can be called up. ― Bernama