Harimau Muda’s head coach Brad Maloney got his wish when the City Boys’ goalkeeper Azri Abdul Ghani departed with the Under-23 squad bound for the 2021 South East Asia (SEA) Games football competition from May 6 to 22, 2022 in Vietnam, on Wednesday from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
It was a relief for the Australian to regain his top custodian, after Kuala Lumpur City’s management team, allowed Azri G. to link up with his Yellow And Black teammates earlier this week, despite the City Boys having three fixtures during the SEA Games competition period held outside the FIFA Days calendar, beginning with this Saturday’s home match vs Sri Pahang, this upcoming Tuesday also in Cheras against Penang FC and then an away trip to Sarawak on May 17, 2022. It is likely that third keeper Azim will deputise for Mendoza in Azri G.’s absence.
On Tuesday, Azri G. who barely turned 23 less than a week back, featured in Malaysia’s 2-0 friendly win over the Philippines at the UiTM Stadium in Shah Alam, in what was their final tune-up before heading to Hanoi. Goals in the second half from Nik Akif Syahiran’s free kick in the 53rd minute and Faiz Amer Runnizar’s strike twelve minutes later, restored confidence in Maloney & Co. after last Friday’s 2-1 shock defeat to Timor Leste at the same venue.
The Kelantan born player was sorely missed in that loss, as he had not joined the SEA Games training squad then. He was Maloney’s first choice between the sticks in the AFC Under-23 Asian Cup Group J qualifiers in Mongolia last October, where Malaysia topped the group that contained Thailand, Laos and the host.
19 year old forward Haqimi Azim Rosli was another Red & White selected for the 31-man training camp from April 19, 2022 at University Malaya’s (UM) Arena in Kuala Lumpur and PKNS’ Sports Complex in Kelana Jaya. Receiving his first ever national calling, he played the first 50 minutes during the disappointing reverse to the Timorians, but did not make the cut for the secondary stage of 24 players.
Unsurprisingly, there was no place for midfielder Shaqirin, who was part of the Malaysian team which endured a dismal outing at the Asean Football Federation’s (AFF) Under-23 Championship in Cambodia last February, with Maloney choosing to invite only two players from that ill-fated campaign, losing twice to Laos in the revised group qualification format after the forced withdrawals of Myanmar and Indonesia before the tournament began.
Selangor and Terengganu (including their secondary sides in the Premier League) dominate the list heading to the 31st edition of the SEA Games, with nine and seven players respectively, while Johor DT (including Johor DT II & III) have 2 representatives. Kedah DA, PDRM, FAM-MSN Project Squad contribute with 1 each with 2 overseas based players rounding up the list. Azri G. is expected to be in the final list of 20 players once Maloney announces it on Friday, a day before their first match in the tournament. The excluded 4 players, shall remain on site as standby back-up, in the event of any player contracting Covid-19 there.
In this latest edition for the battle of the so called SEA Games ‘mother of all gold medals’, the national Under-23 team have been drawn in Group B together with 16 time champs Thailand (tomorrow, May 7, 2022), Laos (May 11), Singapore (May 14) and Cambodia (May 16). Group A sees the participation of host and defending champions Vietnam, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines and Timor Leste. The top two nations of each group will qualify to the semifinals on the May 19, 2022, and the final three days later on May 22, 2022.
Malaysia were gold medal winners of the football competition for 4 times in 1961, 1977, 1979 & 1989 before it became an age restricted competition from the 2001 SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur (2001-2015 Under-23, 2017-2019 Under-22). Since the rule change, the Harimau Muda won twice in 2009 and 2011. In the 2019 Manila SEA Games, the Harimau Muda crashed out of the competition at the group stage, finishing second from bottom in a group that had Myanmar, Cambodia, the Philippines and Timor Leste. The last SEA Games medal the Harimau Muda picked up in football was a silver, after the 1-0 loss to Thailand in the 2017 final at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
The Hanoi SEA Games whcih was postponed from year 2021 proper due to the Covid-19 pandemic, sees the football event going back to the Under-23 age category. It also marks the final preparation for Maloney & Co. before their biggest assignment of the year, the AFC Under-23 Asian Cup in Uzbekistan later in June .