PETALING JAYA: National football coach Kim Pan-gon will pick his squad for the Asian Cup in Qatar after the Merdeka Tournament on Oct 13 and 17.
Malaysia are in Group B with South Korea, Jordan and Bahrain in the Asian Cup from Jan 12 to Feb 10.
The FA of Malaysia (FAM) had reintroduced the Merdeka Tournament, last held in 2013, to provide Malaysia with quality matches before competing at the Asian Cup and the World Cup qualifiers which start next month.
Pan-gon said that not many changes will be made from the 25-member squad named for the tournament.
Malaysia will play India on Oct 13 at the National Stadium.
A win will see Malaysia take on the winner of the match between Palestine and Tajikistan (Oct 13) in the final on Oct 17.
“I don’t base my selection on one game because sometimes, the player’s performance can drop in one or two matches,” said Pan-gon.
“So, the tournament will be quite important for them (players). I think we cannot change (the players) very much.
“I don’t think we are at a stage where we will drop a player just because he didn’t perform in one game, that’s not my style, (and) it’s not the right way to develop a player.”
Pan-gon is also not rushing in his preparation for the tournament as he wants them to recover from the Asian Champions League and AFC Cup matches last week before stepping up the intensity of training in the coming days.
Johor Darul Ta’zim (seven players) were involved in the Champions League while Sabah (four), Terengganu (two) played in the AFC Cup.
Dion Cools, whose Thai club Buriram United also played in the Champions League, and Nooa Laine, who is attached to SJK Seinajoki in the Finnish League, will join the national squad today.
“The first three days we focused on the players’ recovery as several of them have played in the Champions League and AFC Cup,” added Pan-gon.
“By Monday (today), we should be able to have full training with the presence of Cools and Laine.”
Sabah midfielder Stuart Wilkin, according to Pan-gon, is carrying a hamstring injury while the rest of the players are said to be in good condition.
