Kim Swee names 23-man squad for AFC U-23 Cup

KUALA LUMPUR: National Under-22 football squad head coach Datuk Ong Kim Swee has named the final 23 players who will take part in the 2018 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U23 Championship final round in China, from Jan 9 to 27.

The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) in a statement said three of the 26 players who attended training in Mokpo, South Korea on Dec 17, did not make the list.

The three were PJ Rangers defender Raphi Azizan Mariappen, 21, as well as midfielders Ahmad Khairil Anuar Zamri, 22, (Perak) and K. Thivandaran, 18, (Penang).

"The three players were dropped as they have not fully recovered from injury, even though they showed great determination during their time in the squad.

"They will return home on Saturday (today), but they would be on standby to go to China if any of the players in the 23-man squad is injured before the first game kicks off on Jan 10," the statement said.

During the two-week training stint in Mokpo, the squad played three friendly matches against local South Korean clubs.

The squad drew 1-1 in their first match against Mokpo City FC on Dec 20 and went on to win 1-0 against Honam University on Dec 22, before another 1-1 draw against Jeonju Citizen FC on Dec 28.

The squad will depart Seoul, South Korea for Nanjing, China today, where they will play their last friendly match against the Syrian U-23 squad at the Jiangsu Training Centre Stadium there, next Friday.

They will then head to Changshu on Jan 6, where they will play their first two Group C matches against Iraq on Jan 10 and Jordan on Jan 13, before rounding up the group stage against Saudi Arabia in Kunshan, on Jan 16.

The top two teams from the group will qualify for the quarterfinals which take place on Jan 20, followed by the semi-finals on Jan 23, and the final on Jan 27.