KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 21 — Kedah’s quick-witted player Mohd Syazwan Zainon is among five new faces called up to join the national squad in training ahead of matches against Singapore and Afghanistan next month.

Mohd Rizal Mohd Ghazali (Kedah), Mohd Fazrul Hazli Mohd Kadri (Perak), Muhammad Hadin Azman (Felda United) and Ahmad Khuzaimi Pee (Malacca) are the other four who would be attending training starting September 27.

The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) in a statement today said the five would be replacing four players dropped from the squad, namely Brendan Gan and Wan Zack Haikal Wan Nor (Kelantan), Mohammad Amer Saidin (Johor Darul Ta’zim II) and Khair Muhammad Jefri Jones (Malacca).

National head coach Datuk Ong Kim Swee said he had decided to retain the 20 players who attended training when facing Indonesia on September 6, including Nazirul Naim Che Hashim who suffered an injury during training.

"I listed 25 players this time because we will face two matches, namely against Singapore and Afghanistan. New players like Fazrul Hazli, Hadin, Khuzaimi, Rizal and Syazwan have the opportunity to prove their ability in the two matches before the final selection for the AFF Suzuki Cup 2016 squad.

"Besides Brendan Gan who was dropped due to injury, the (other) three, namely Wan Zack, Amer and Khair who were dropped would not mean they will be removed from the squad permanently. I want to see the other players play, so that all of them are given equal opportunities.

"I cannot list all 28 players this time. After all, I already know the abilities of Wan Zack, Amer and Khair, so what’s important is I need to give a chance to other players to prove their ability,” he said.

The first group of 12 players listed this time would report to Wisma FAM on September 27, while the remaining 13 players from Kedah, Police, Selangor and T-Team will report on October 2 since they would be involved in the first leg of the Malaysia Cup semi-finals and AFC Cup 2016 semi-finals.

"I decided to begin the training camp on September 27 because the 12 players who are not involved in the cup matches are mostly in defensive positions. Shahrul, Ronny, Matthew, Nazirul Naim, Khuzaimi and Rizal are defenders, so this gives me a chance to work with them longer and focus on their defensive role.

"So when the remaining 13 players report on October 2, I can straight away focus on full tactical play,” he said.

Meanwhile, Kim Swee said the two category "A” international matches against Singapore on October 7 at the National Stadium in Singapore and Afghanistan on October 11 at the Shah Alam Stadium would serve as the final assessment of players before being listed for the AFF Suzuki Cup in November.

"At the same time we also need to get some positive results as it plays an important role in determining our ranking in the next update on October 20,” he said.

Malaysia finished in 158th in the International Federation of Association Football (Fifa) rankings on September 15, up nine places from 167th in July.

This saw the Harimau Malaysia squad placed among countries such as Grenada (156), Barbados (157), Kuwait (159) and Aruba (160).

Among Asean countries, Malaysia are behind the Philippines (125), Thailand (135), Vietnam (141), Myanmar (153) and Singapore (155).

However, Malaysia’s ranking is expected to decline next month following a 1-3 defeat to Indonesia who are ranked 181st, in a friendly match on September 6. — Bernama