KUALA LUMPUR, May 23 — Harimau Malaya head coach Kim Pan Gon’s task just got tougher after he lost the services of three key players for the two remaining Group D matches in the second round of the 2026 World Cup/2027 Asian Cup Qualifiers against Kyrgyzstan and Taiwan next month.
The three are wingers Arif Aiman Mohd Hanapi, Mohamad Faisal Abdul Halim and Raul Morales, the newly-naturalised striker who scored the equaliser for Malaysia in the 3-3 draw with South Korea in the AFC Asian Cup 2023 in January.
A Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) statement today said that the trio and left-back Muhammad Azam Azmi Murad had to be dropped from the national centralised training camp, which starts on Monday (May 27), due to injuries.
Two players, Kedah Darul Aman FC on-loan hitman Syafiq Ahmad and Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) centreback Muhamad Feroz Baharudin, have earned a recall to the national training camp.
The duo are among the eight new players called up by Pan Gon, who has retained 16 of the 24 players from the squad who featured in the two group matches against Oman in March.
Penang FC left-back Muhammad Adib Abdul Ra’op stands a chance to make his international debut after being called to attend the centralised training camp while Nooa Laine, who is of Malaysian-Finnish parentage, is the sole Selangor FC player called up to the training squad.
Meanwhile, FAM confirmed that 22 more players have been placed on standby.
For the record, Mohamad Faisal, better known as Faisal Halim, has been told to take a long break following the fourth-degree burns he suffered on his body after being splashed with acid by an unknown individual at a shopping mall in Petaling Jaya on May 5.
After four matches, Malaysia, who are in third spot in Group D with six points, will take on Kyrgyzstan at the Dolen Omurzakov Stadium in Bishkek on June 6 before wrapping up their group fixtures against Taiwan at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil here on June 11.
Kyrgyzstan lead the standings in Group D with nine points while Oman, also with nine points, are second with an inferior goal difference. The two teams will meet in the final group match on June 11. Taiwan prop up the standings with no points.
The national team must win both their remaining matches and hope for Oman to upset Kyrgyzstan to stand a chance to make history by advancing to the third round of the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers and earning early qualification for the 2027 Asian Cup.
Following is the list of 26 players called up by Pan Gon for the Harimau Malaya centralised training camp from Monday (May 27):
1. Ahmad Syihan Hazmi Mohamed — JDT
2. Matthew Davies — JDT
3. Muhamad Feroz Baharudin — JDT
4. Shahrul Mohd Saad — JDT
5. La’vere Lawrence Corbin-ong — JDT
6. Endrick Dos Santos — JDT
7. Muhammad Azri Ab Ghani — Kuala Lumpur City FC
8. Declan Lambert — Kuala Lumpur City FC
9. Brendan Gan — Kuala Lumpur City FC
10. Paulo Josue — Kuala Lumpur City FC
11. Muhammad Haqimi Azim Rosli — Kuala Lumpur City FC
12. Dominic Tan — Sabah FC
13. Daniel Ting — Sabah FC
14. Stuart Wilkin — Sabah FC
15. Darren Lok — Sabah FC
16. Muhammad Safawi Rasid — Terengganu FC
17. Muhammad Akhyar Abdul Rashid — Terengganu FC
18. Safwan Mazlan — Terengganu FC
19. Engku Muhammad Nur Shakir Engku Yacob — Terengganu FC
20. Sikh Izhan Nazrel Sikh Azman — Penang FC
21. Mohamed Syamer Kutty Abba — Penang FC
22. Muhammad Adib Abdul Ra’op — Penang FC
23. Kalamullah Al-hafiz Mat Rowi — Kedah Darul Aman FC
24. Muhammad Syafiq Ahmad — Kedah Darul Aman FC
25. Nooa Hamzah Laine — Selangor FC
26. Dion Cools — Buriram United — Bernama
