Learning from Indonesia, U23 Malaysia calls up 2 naturalized players to play U23 Southeast Asia

7 out of 26 U23 Malaysian players participating in U23 Southeast Asia 2025 are national players, including 2 naturalized players.

FAM organizes The Elite Games program for U23 Malaysia. Photo: Malaysia NT.

The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) announced the list of 26 players preparing for the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship. Notable among them are two naturalized players Gabriel Palmero and Fergus Tierney.

In addition, U23 Malaysia also has many potential players such as Arif Aiman ​​Hanapi, midfielder Nooa Laine, center back Harith Haiqal Adam Afkar, and young talents Ubaidullah Shamsul Fazili and Haqimi Azim Rosli. These players were also on the list of the Malaysian team that won 4-0 against Vietnam in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers on June 10.

Notably, all 26 players on the list are under the age of U22, the age group that will be eligible to participate in the 33rd SEA Games in Thailand later this year. This is a move that shows the in-depth preparation of Malaysian football towards both short-term tournaments and long-term goals.

Malaysia U23 will gather from June 23 under the guidance of coach Nafuzi Zain. The players will participate in a short-term training course called The Elite Games – “super squad”. This is an internal competition program to evaluate the ability and performance of each individual.

U23 Malaysia will gather from June 23. Photo: Malaysia NT.

The players are divided into several teams and will compete against each other as a form of tactical and personnel screening. The results from these matches will be the basis for the coaching staff to select the final force for the upcoming 2025 Southeast Asian U23 tournament.

“Our goal in organizing The Elite Games is to call up U23 players in a short time, create conditions for competition and test their abilities before entering the official tournament,” FAM Technical Director Tan Cheng Hoe told Malaysian press about The Elite Games program on June 19.

This year’s tournament will take place in Jakarta, Indonesia, from July 15. Malaysia U23 will be in Group A with Indonesia U23, Philippines and Brunei U23. This group is considered a competition between Malaysia and Indonesia, especially when the host team has just announced a squad with 8 national players and 1 naturalized player.

Source: https://znews.vn/hoc-indonesia-u23-malaysia-goi-2-cau-thu-nhap-tich-da-u23-dong-nam-a-post1563269.html