Aidil Zafuan thrilled with national recall

KUALA LUMPUR: Veteran Aidil Zafuan Abdul Radzak described his return to the international scene as the highest recognition for him to continue serving the Harimau Malaya.

The 32-year-old Johor Darul Ta’zim ( JDT) centre-back, who was recalled by Tan Cheng Hoe in a list of 27 players for centralised training is determined to prove his worth in a Tier 1 friendly against Sri Lanka at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil tonight.

The match will help Cheng Hoe prepare the squad ahead of their trip to Vietnam for their third Group G match of the World Cup 2022/Asian Cup 2023 qualifiers at My Dinh National Stadium in Hanoi on Oct 10.

“It would be disappointing not to be able to join my teammates on the field and as a player, we accept the matter positively and will work hard to win a place in the first eleven.

“After watching my teammates playing against Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) last month made me even more excited to join Harimau Malaya,” said Aidil Zafuan at a pre-match media conference yesterday.

Aidil Zafuan last played for the national squad when Malaysia lost 2-3 in aggregate to Vietnam in the final of the AFF Suzuki Cup 2018 at My Dinh Stadium on Dec 15 last year. He made 82 international appearance with the national squad since 2007.

In this regard, Cheng Hoe stressed that the warm-up against Sri Lanka would be the best arena for him to select the top eleven against Vietnam.

The 51-year-old announced he would not be calling new players even though some were injured during the Malaysia Cup matches.

“We hope to achieve positive results in the Sri Lanka match to get the momentum rolling against Vietnam.

In the match against Indonesia at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta, Malaysia won 3-2 before losing 1-2 to UAE in the second match at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil. — Bernama