U22 Malaysia is absent from the star striker pair at the 32nd SEA Games
Luqman and Arif were both born in 2002, the brightest in the current Malaysian U22 class. Because the SEA Games 32 men's football schedule is outside of the FIFA Days calendar, the governing clubs of these two strikers refused to release people.
Arif Aiman has been with domestic club Johor Darul Tazim since the age of 18 and has played 74 matches. Luqman Hakim is playing in the Icelandic First Division for Njarovik FC on loan from Belgian club KV Kortrijk - where he has only played two matches since 2020. After two games in the Iceland Cup, Luqman Hakim scored one and assisted one goal. .
However, according to coach Elavarasan, the absence of the star striker pair is a loss in the estimate. The list of 25 players is mainly the names that just won the Merlion Cup 2023 friendly tournament in Singapore last month. All of them compete in the country, coming from six clubs, including Selangor (7 people), Terengganu (5), Johor Darul Tazim II (4), Kuala Lumpur City (4), Kedah Darul Aman (3) and Negeri Sembilan ( 2). Besides these 25 players, coach Elavarasan also made a backup list with seven more players.
At the 32nd SEA Games, Malaysia U22 is in Group B and has an immediate goal of passing the group stage. They will face Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore, respectively, on May 3, 6, 8 and 11.
Due to a break from the first match on April 30, Malaysia U22 went to Cambodia on May 2, just a day before the opening match against Laos. Meanwhile, Vietnam and Thailand moved from April 26 to 27, respectively.
Malaysia won the SEA Games men's football gold medal twice, in 2009, 2011. But then, their best achievement was only reaching the final and receiving a silver medal at home in 2017. At the 31st SEA Games. Last year, Malaysia entered the semi-finals, lost to host Vietnam 0-1, and then lost to Indonesia 3-4 in the bronze medal match.
- Goalkeepers (3): Rahadiazli Rahalim (Terengganu), Sikh Izhan (Negeri Sembilan), Azim Al Amin (Kuala Lumpur City)
Defenders (8): Ruventhiran Vengadesan, Harith Haiqal, Fakrul Fareez (Selangor), Ubaidullah Shamsul, Safwan Mazlan, Azam Azmi Murad (Terengganu), Azrin Afiq (Kedah Darul Aman), Syakimi Karim (Negeri Sembilan)
Midfielders (7): Nadzwin Salleh, Saravanan Thirumurugan (Kuala Lumpur City), Adam Farhan, Fergus Tierney (Johor Darul Tazim II), Alif Izwan, Syahir Bashah, Mukhairi Ajmal (Selangor)
Strikers (7): Daryl Sham, Najmudin Akmal (Johor Darul Tazim II), Zikri Khalili (Selangor), Muslihuddin Atiq (Terengganu), Haqimi Azim (Kuala Lumpur City), Aiman Afif, Zharmien Ashraf (Kedah Darul Aman).
