PETALING JAYA, Dec 30 — Johor Darul Ta’zim’s (JDT) midfielder Liridon Krasniqi may soon be putting on Malaysia’s jersey as the Harimau Malaya squad prepares for its first international match in over a year.

Liridon is among the players on the list of 26 to 30 players to join the national squad’s centralised training camp on January 15-26, in a final preparation for the 2022 World Cup/2023 Asian Cup group G qualifiers against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Vietnam in March.

This is the first time the 28-year-old former Kosovo national squad player has been called by national head coach Tan Cheng Hoe since becoming a naturalised Malaysian citizen in February.

Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) deputy president cum national squad manager Datuk Mohd Yusoff Mahadi said Liridon had to show his best performance and prove his determination first before he could qualify to be picked to represent Malaysia.

“Whether he (Liridon) will get a spot in the national team or not depends on his current performance during the centralised training or the evaluation of the coaching line-up aimed at ensuring that his current performance is good enough to represent the country,” he told Bernama today.

“Previously, all the best players in the country were also be evaluated by coaches at centralised training camps, so his performance will be monitored and hopefully he can contribute something during the matches in March,” he added.

Liridon and Cheng Hoe last worked together during their time in Kedah from 2015 to 2017. Cheng Hoe is said to have been the one responsible in turning Liridon into one of the best import players in the Malaysia League during his stint with the Lang Merah squad.

Mohd Yusoff acknowledged that he was looking forward to seeing how Cheng Hoe would utilise Liridon’s skills in the national team’s game.

“Maybe it’s too early to talk about Liridon’s performance because there hasn’t been a national squad match involving him to date, but we are certain his presence will help the team to improve.

“Tan (Cheng Hoe) himself knows him personally for quite a long time, so there may be some advantages from their combination. He (Cheng Hoe) understands Liridon’s game well so we hope that the squad will benefit with Liridon on the team,” he said. — Bernama