Malaysia left to face three rivals in group

will now have only three teams to contend with in the Asian Games football competition in Indonesia as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have been moved to Group C following a redraw conducted yesterday.

The second redraw was held by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) following the withdrawal of Iraq.

UAE will play China, Timor Leste and Syria in Group C while Malaysia’s Group E will comprise defending champions South Korea, Kyrgyzstan and Bahrain

In an earlier redraw, UAE and Palestine were pooled into groups as they were not included in the first draw on July 5 despite confirming their entries.

Meanwhile, Syahmi Safari hopes to shine with the Asian Games-bound Under-23 squad under national youth coach Ong Kim Swee.

The Selangor midfielder is seen as having the potential to fill the void left by Nor Azam Azih, who was not released by Pahang together with defender Matthew Davies.

The 20-year-old is expected to be given a chance to shine when Malaysia take on China in an Under-23 friendly in Changzhou tomorrow.

“It is great to earn a late call-up to join the team. Now, I must fight for my place as there are many quality players in the squad.

“I will do my best to impress the coach and it is up to him to assess and determine whether I will be in his plans for the Asian Games.

“It is important that I play with maturity and confidence,” said Syahmi.

Among others not in the squad (due to various reasons) are Syamer Kutty Abba, Jafri Firdaus Chew, Hadi Fayyadh Abd Radzak and Aidil Zafuan Abd Radzak.