Ahead of the 33rd SEA Games, U22 Malaysia faces countless difficulties. They were almost abandoned by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM). The reason was that FAM was busy pursuing an appeal with FIFA and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and could not pay attention to U22 Malaysia.
U22 Malaysia did not have good preparation for the 33rd SEA Games (Photo: FAM).
As a result, Coach Nafuzi Zain’s team did not have any friendly matches before the SEA Games. Not only that, they also gathered late and did not have good training conditions. The entire team only gathered on November 25 and is expected to travel to Thailand on December 5. This is not to mention the flooding situation in Thailand, which forced U22 Malaysia to constantly change their plans.
“Things did not go according to plan, but U22 Malaysia has prepared mentally to cope with all situations,” commented the New Straits Times.
The newspaper quoted Coach Nafuzi Zain as saying that the goal of reaching the semi-finals is feasible for U22 Malaysia. He said: “The first match against U22 Laos is crucial for our advancement goal. U22 Laos is not easy to play against because most of their players are from the national team.
If we win against U22 Laos, U22 Malaysia will be ready for the challenge called U22 Vietnam. We aim to reach the semi-finals of men’s football at the SEA Games. This goal is entirely feasible.”
The list of 25 players includes two notable names: defender Muhammad Ubaidullah and striker Alif Izwan. They were part of the national team that won 1-0 against Nepal in the Asian Cup qualifiers last month. Most of U22 Malaysia’s players compete in lower leagues and youth tournaments. They have never had experience playing in the Malaysia Super League. Meanwhile, naturalized player Fergus Tierney is still absent because Sabah FC has not agreed to release him.
U22 Malaysia wants to overcome U22 Vietnam to qualify for the semi-finals (Photo: Tien Tuan).
Coach Nafuzi believes that the continuity of players from the U23 Southeast Asian Championship in Jakarta last July will help U22 Malaysia, given the tight preparation time.
Malaysia won the gold medal in men’s football at the 2011 SEA Games in Jakarta, but has faced many difficulties in recent years. At the 2023 SEA Games, the “Young Tigers” only finished third in Group B and failed to reach the semi-finals.
U22 Malaysia will play a friendly match against Police FC (Malaysia) on November 29 before Coach Nafuzi finalizes the list of 23 players for the 33rd SEA Games.
Although clubs in the Malaysia Super League are unwilling to release their best young talents for the 33rd SEA Games because the tournament is not on the FIFA calendar, Coach Nafuzi said he is still ready to adapt.
He stated: “We understand that it will be difficult to call on clubs to release players, but no matter what happens, the whole team will continue to fight.”
Malaysian football expert Richard Scully affirmed that U22 Malaysia should not blame the Super League clubs for not releasing players. He emphasized: “The SEA Games are not a FIFA-sanctioned tournament. Therefore, clubs are not obligated to release players. This situation is not unique to U22 Malaysia; other teams in the region also face similar circumstances. Some teams can call up good players because they negotiate with the clubs.
If U22 Malaysia fails, it is not an excuse for them to justify it. Poor preparation, leading to a failure to convince clubs to release players, is our fault.”
U22 Malaysia will play their opening match of the 33rd SEA Games against U22 Laos on December 6. Then, on December 11, they will face U22 Vietnam. The top three teams from the three groups, along with the best second-placed team, will qualify for the semi-finals.
