KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 4 — National head coach Tan Cheng Hoe has named his final squad for the Asean Football Federation (AFF) Suzuki Cup.

Veterans Shahrul Idlan Talaha, Zaqhuan Adha Abdul Radzak and Khairul Fahmi Che Mat will be heavily relied on when the competition gets underway from November 8 until December 15.

Cheng Hoe had a final warm-up match against Maldives yesterday in which Shahrul, better known as Mat Yo, played a starring role with two assists.

Captain and striker Zaqhuan, who has had a poor season by his standards with Kuala Lumpur, scored from his first touch.

Khairul, better known as ‘Apek’, made multiple one-on-one saves, while Safawi Rasid and Mohamadou Sumareh rounded up the scores.

“These guys have the experience and they gel well with the youngsters,” said Cheng Hoe.

“They have a great attitude towards training, which sets a good example for the youngsters. Moreover, they always work hard in training and when this happens, it creates a good environment in the team.”

Malaysia open their campaign against Cambodia on November 8 and their first home game will be against Laos on November 12.

Cheng How has a relatively young team with 19 players below the age of 30. Besides the three mentioned, Zaqhuan’s twin brother Aidil Zafiuan Abdul Radzak and Farizal Marlias are above 30.

The last time Malaysia won the AFF Cup was in 2010 when the country beat Indonesia 4-2 on aggregate. Mat Yo, Zaqhuan and Apek were all part of that team who were under the guidance of Datuk K. Rajagopal.

When asked to list his concerns heading into the competition, Cheng Hoe said: “Just the cohesiveness. Teamwork and team understanding are top of my list. Also, I felt there was a lack of composure in the final third of the field. It allowed Maldives to counter attack and they almost scored a few times.

“Despite that, we’ve had enough time to prepare and we must be confident. All the nations want to win the Cup, so we must be prepared and stay focused.”

AFF SUZUKI CUP FINAL LIST

  • Farizal Marlias
  • Aidil Zafuan Abdul Radzak
  • Adam Nor Azlin
  • Syamer Kutty Abba
  • Safawi Rasid
  • Ahmad Hazwan Bakri
  • Syafiq Ahmad
  • Hafizul Hakim Khairul Nizam Jothy
  • Shahrul Saad
  • Amirul Azhan Aznan
  • Nazirul Naim Che Hashim
  • Kenny Pallraj
  • Akram Mahinan
  • Syazwan Zainon
  • Akhyar Rashid
  • Zaquan Adha Abdul Radzak
  • Syazwan Andik Ishak
  • Irfan Zakaria
  • Mohamadou Sumareh
  • Norshahrul Idlan Talaha
  • Khairul Fahmi Che Mat
  • Syahmi Safari
  • Shahrel Fikri Fauzi