PETALING JAYA, Sept 27 — Head coach Datuk Ong Kim Swee is desperate for Malaysia to beat Singapore and Afghanistan in two class “A’ international friendly matches.
“Victory in the two matches is vital as it will improve Malaysia’s world ranking,” he told reporters after the first day of training by the national team at Wisma FAM in Kelana Jaya today.
Malaysia is ranked at 158 in world football by Fifa for September.
Kim Swee expects five new faces called up for centralised training to prove their ability in the national team.
The five new faces are Mohd Fazrul Hazli Mohd Kadri (Perak), Muhammad Hadin Azman (Felda United), Ahmad Khuzaimi Piee (Malacca), Mohd Rizal Mohd Ghazali and Mohd Syazwan Zainon (both from Kedah).
“This is a good time for them to prove their worth. I will name 25 players in the final list in November for the AFF Suzuki Cup (in Myanmar) in December.
“I hope they can force their way into the team and can feature in the friendly international matches against Singapore and Afghanistan.”
Asked about the call-up of Darren Lok, the coach said the JDT II player had impressed despite being in the country for only four monhths.
Born in England, Lok, 24, joined JDT II in June from Eastbourne Borough, a semi-professional club in England’s Southern League.
Malaysia will play Singapore in a friendly match at National Stadium, Kallang, on October7 and face Afghanistan at Shah Alam Stadium four days later. — Bernama
