Luqman, Annil among 17 in U-23 training squad
KUALA LUMPUR: Two young overseas-based players, forward Luqman Hakim Shamsudin and defender Annil Vigneswaran, are among 17 players called up for the national football Under23 training camp beginning on Sunday.
Luqman is playing for Japan’s Y.S.C.C Yokohama while Annil is with German division three club SV Waldhof Mannheim 07.
The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), in a statement yesterday, said the Harimau Muda squad training camp is to prepare for the U-23 Asian Cup 2024 in Qatar from April 15 to May 3.
Also listed by Harimau Muda head coach Juan Torres Garrido are mixed Malaysian-Scottish player Fergus Tierney, who plays for Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) II, and two more JDT players, Daryl Sham K.K George and Muhamad Najmudin Akmal Kamal Akmal.
According to FAM, the 17 will be joined by several other players who have been training with Kim Pan Gon’s Harimau Malaya squad since March 8 to prepare for the 2026 World Cup/2027 Asian Cup qualifiers against Oman on March 21 in Muscat and on March 26 here. A total of 11 national U-23 players are in the Harimau Malaya training camp, including Selangor FC midfielder Muhammad Mukhairi Ajmal Mahadi, Kuala Lumpur City FC striker Muhammad Haqimi Azim Rosli and Penang FC goalkeeper Sikh Izhan Nazrel Sikh Azman.
“Any players (among 11 with Harimau Malaya training camp) not selected for the final squad for the 2026 World Cup/2027 Asian Cup qualifiers against Oman will be released to join the national U-23 centralised training camp,” FAM said.
FAM said 16 players have been placed on a standby list, including Ziad El Basheer Norisham of JDT, Nik Umar Nik Aziz of Perak FC and Azhad Harraz Arman of Sabah FC. For the U-23 Asian Cup campaign in Qatar, Harimau Muda are in Group D and will play Uzbekistan on April 17, Vietnam (April 20) and Kuwait (April 23).