Out: Belgian-Malaysian defender Dion Cools has been dropped because of personal issues .
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s quest for glory in the Mitsubishi AFF Cup suffered a huge blow when defensive stalwart Dion Cools’ name was not included in the final 23-man squad that was announced by Harimau Malaya head coach Kim Pan-gon yesterday.
The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), in a statement, said that Cools, who plays for FK Jablonec in the top league in the Czech Republic, could not join the squad this time due to personal matters.
Cools was one of the 28 players called up the for centralised training camp, which began on Nov 29.
The other four dropped were goalkeeper Azri Ab Ghani, midfielder Aliff Izwan Yuslan and strikers M. Kogileswaran Raj and Ramadhan Saifullah Usman.
But it is the absence of Cools that’s set to have a big impact on the Harimau Malaya team as they get ready for the AFF Cup campaign from Dec 20-Jan 16.
Cools, 26, has played a crucial role in the backline since making his Harimau Malaya debut in the 2022 World Cup-2023 Asian Cup Qualifiers in June 2021.
The Belgian-Malaysian defender has since earned 12 caps for Malaysia.
Meanwhile, naturalised players Lee Tuck and Sergio Aguero are set to make their debut with the Harimau Malaya after being named in the final squad.
The duo will vie for a spot in attack with Safawi Rasid, Mohd Faisal Halim, Darren Lok and Mohd Haqimi Azim Rosli.
Malaysia will leave for Yangon on Monday (Dec 19), to begin their AFF Cup Group B campaign against Myanmar on Wednesday (Dec 21) before taking on Laos at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on Dec 24, Vietnam in Hanoi (Dec 27) and Singapore at Bukit Jalil (Jan 3).
If Pan-gon’s men can finish in the top two in Group B, they will qualify for the two-legged semi-finals on Jan 6-7 and Jan 9-10.
As for the final, the first leg will be on Jan 13 and the return leg on Jan 16. — Bernama
