U22 Malaysia lost its naturalized star before the match against U22 Vietnam

u22 malaysia - Ảnh 1. — Malaysia U22 star Fergus Tierney - Photo: THE SCOTTISH SUN

According to Berita Harian (Malaysia), Fergus Tierney cannot serve the national U22 team in the group stage of men's football at the 33rd SEA Games in Thailand because he has to focus on his duties at Sabah Club.

In Group B, U22 Malaysia will play two matches against U22 Laos on December 6 and U22 Vietnam on December 11. In particular, the match against U22 Vietnam will likely decide Malaysia's chance to enter the semi-finals.

Sabah FC's management initially planned to let Fergus Tierney join the Malaysia U22 team to play against Laos U22 and then return to the team to prepare for the National Cup final on December 14. However, Sabah FC's head coach, Jean-Paul de Marigny, did not agree. He wanted to keep the mainstay Tierney from now until December 14.

"The club's head coach wants Tierney to stay with the team until December 14. We have to respect his professional decision and cannot interfere," Sabah Club CEO Mohd Joh Wid shared.

Football at the SEA Games is not part of the FIFA competition system, so clubs have the right not to release players to the national youth team. Therefore, Tierney's absence in the two matches against U22 Laos and U22 Vietnam is a big problem for U22 Malaysia, a team that does not have the strongest squad at this year's regional sports festival.

Fergus Tierney was born in 2003 in Scotland, 1.86 m tall, is a promising naturalized player of Malaysian football, having continuously played for the U22/U23 and the Malaysian national team in recent years.

At the ASEAN Cup 2024 late last year, Tierney scored 1 goal and made 1 assist after 4 group stage matches. He is expected to carry the U22 Malaysia team in the 33rd SEA Games, but can only participate in the semi-finals if the home team passes the group stage.

Head coach of U22 Malaysia, Mr. Nafuzi Zain, shared: "During the preparation process before this SEA Games, we have been training and ready even without the best players. The coaching staff also determined that there will be players who will come to the training camp and then return or vice versa in the middle of attending the conference."

In recent SEA Games, U22 Malaysia has not had good results. The last time the Malayan Tigers won a gold medal in men's football was in 2011. Since then, they have often stopped in the group stage or only reached the semi-finals.

Back to topic

NGOC LE

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/u22-malaysia-mat-ngoi-sao-nhap-tich-truoc-tran-gap-u22-viet-nam-20251204094943438.htm