Cheng Hoe calls up six new faces in quest to rebuild national team
PETALING JAYA: National team coach Tan Cheng Hoe’s quest to rebuild the national team ahead of the Asean Football Federation (AFF) Cup continues in the friendlies against Sri Lanka and Kyrgyzstan.
The team assembled in Melaka yesterday and will depart for Colombo tomorrow for the match against Sri Lanka on Friday.
They will then return home to play Kyrgyzstan at the Hang Jebat Stadium on Oct 16.
Cheng Hoe has called up six new faces to the team – goalkeeper Haziq Nadzli, Syamer Kutty Abba ( Johor Darul Ta’zim), Kenny Pallraj, Nor Hakim Hassan (Perak) and Mohamadou Sumareh and Matthew Davies (Pahang).
The former international said he is looking to test out players in the positions of central midfielders, strikers and central defenders.
He added that all the players will be given an equal chance to prove themselves as long as they perform well in training to earn their position in the starting XI.
“We need to look for more options in central midfield, defence and upfront, so that’s why we are testing players in these positions and I have called up new faces to the team,” said Cheng Hoe.
“Kyrgyzstan will be a good test for the players because they are ranked higher than us and despite being an Asian team, their style is more to European.”
“Everyone will be given an equal chance, the players just need to be confident in themselves and focus on the training.
“Players who perform will definitely get the chance to play in the matches.”
Cheng Hoe added that the newcomers to the team, especially Gambia-born Sumareh needs to adapt fast to the team.
“Unfortunately we don’t have much time to prepare for these two matches so the players will have to hit the ground running.
“I have confidence that the players will step up,” he said.
“Sumareh has good physique and he is also fast but it will be a bit tough to adapt to the rest of the team in short notice.
“I think his experience playing in the M-League will make it easier for him to gel with the team.”