KUALA NERUS, June 15 — National winger Muhammad Safawi Rasid revealed that he and his actress-wife Syifa Melvin were expecting the arrival of their little bundle of joy soon.
The disclosure answered questions that arose in the crowd following his animated style of celebrating a goal when he tummy-tucked the ball under his jersey, which the Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) player executed after scoring the third goal in Malaysia’s 4-1 victory over the Solomon Islands here yesterday.
Muhammad Safawi’s style of celebrating the goal animatedly has been immortalised by football stars around the world as a symbolic tribute to their expectant wives, to share the good news with fans.
“Yes, (Shyfa) is pregnant. The goal was a gift to my wife, pray for us to be well. She’s almost six months (in pregnancy),” he said after the Tier 1 international friendly against the Solomon Islands at the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium here.
For the record, Muhammad Safawi and Syifa tied the knot in November last year.
In the match against the Solomon Islands, Muhammad Safawi went on as a substitute in the second half before proving his deadly touch with a goal in the 77th minute which was also his first goal on the international stage after almost a year.
The last time the 26-year-old scored a goal in the Harimau Malaya colours was when Malaysia defeated Bangladesh 4-1 in the third round of the 2023 Asian Cup qualifiers in Kuala Lumpur last June.
“I’m happy because the last time I scored was against Bangladesh... I’m (also) happy to score here because I rarely get a chance to play here,” said the native of Dungun, Terengganu.
In the meantime, he confirmed that he will stay with JDT this season after the loan period to Thai club Ratchaburi FC ended recently.
Muhammad Safawi, who was loaned to Portuguese club Portimonense SC in 2021, migrated to Thailand last December and managed to score one goal in a total of 16 appearances.
Malaysia are now scheduled to meet Papua New Guinea in another Tier 1 international friendly here on Tuesday. — Bernama
