U23 Vietnam's opponent loses key player before U23 Asia tournament

According to The Star, U23 Malaysia suffered a loss of strength right before entering the 2024 U23 Asian Cup. Right-back Azam Azmi is considered an important link in coach Juan Torres' squad but will not be able to participate in the upcoming tournament in Qatar.

Izhan Azman, one of the three goalkeepers of the Malaysia U23 team, said: " We need a quality player for the right-back position and that is Azam. His absence is a significant loss for Malaysia U23. Hopefully he will recover soon."

Azam did not make it to the AFC U23 Championship.

Coach Juan Torres Garrido's current squad includes 11 players who have just returned from the national team plus 15 U23 players who have gathered before. In the list of U23 Malaysia, two naturalized names stand out: Nooa Laine and Fergus Tierney. In addition, this team also called a player who is playing in Japan, Luqman Hakim.

Luqman Hakim had an impressive performance in the 2019 Southeast Asian U19 tournament held in Vietnam when he scored 4 goals to help his team reach the final. After this tournament, he went to Europe to play in Belgium, Iceland and then returned to Japan to play for YSCC Yokohama in J.League 3.

The Malaysian U23 team will play three more friendly matches with China on April 3, Qatar (April 6 or 7) and an undecided match on April 10 or 11 before the AFC U23 Championship officially begins on April 15.

U23 Malaysia is in Group D with Vietnam, Kuwait and Uzbekistan. Malaysia will face Vietnam in the second match on April 20. The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has set a target of reaching the quarter-finals for coach Juan Torres Garrido and his team. If they reach the semi-finals, U23 Malaysia will have a chance to attend the Paris Olympics.

At the AFC U23 Championship, the champion, runner-up and third-placed teams will qualify for the Olympics, while the fourth-placed team will play an intercontinental play-off with U23 Guinea to determine the winner of the final ticket to Paris this summer.

List of U23 Malaysia participating in the 2024 Asian Cup Finals

Goalkeepers: Azim Al-Amin (Kuala Lumpur), Sheikh Izhan (Negeri Sembilan), Syahmi Adib Haikal (Selangor)

Defenders: Umar Hakeem (JDT II), Firdaus Ramli (JDT), Aiman Khairul Yusni (Perak), Harith Haiqal (Selangor), Zikri Khalili (Selangor), Muhamad Abu Khalil (Selangor), Ubaidullah Shamsul (Terengganu), Safwan Mazlan (Terengganu).

Midfielders: Adam Farhan (JDT), Daryl Sham (JDT), Aiman Afif (Kedah Darul Aman), Firdaus Ahmad Fuad (Perak), Aliff Izwan (Selangor), Syahir Bashah (Selangor), Saiful Jamaluddin (Sri Pahang), Mukhairi Ajmal (Selangor), Nooa Laine (Selangor).

Forwards: T.Saravanan (Terengganu), Alif Ikmalrizal (Penang), Haqimi Azim (Kuala Lumpur), Najmudin Akmal (JDT), Fergus Tierney (JDT), Luqman Hakim Shamsudin (YSCC Yokohama).

Minh Tu

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