Middle man trapped: KL’s Zhafri Yahya (in white) in action against Johor Darul Ta’zim in their Super League match on Sunday.
PETALING JAYA: Kuala Lumpur midfielder Zhafri Yahya believes his patience and perseverance will finally earn him his first cap with the national football team.
This is the third time that the 29-year-old, fondly known as just Zhaf, has been called up for Malaysia but he has yet to feature in a single game.
His first call-up came in 2022, where he was a part of the squad for the King’s Cup in Thailand. Zhafri had looked forward to making his international debut then, but he was not used by coach Kim Pan-gon.
Last year, he was considered for the friendlies against India and Tajikistan, but didn’t see action again much to his frustration.
But the situation could be different this time. Zhafri has been roped in to replace injured striker Syafiq Ahmad for the remaining two World Cup 2026-Asian Cup 2027 second-round qualifiers against Kyrgyzstan in Bishkek (June 6) and Taiwan at Bukit Jalil (June 11).
And he has a good reason to be hopeful of being fielded as the squad have been impacted by injuries to key players like Faisal Halim, Darren Lok, Arif Aiman Hanapi and Syafiq.
‘’I believe this is the best chance for me to do something for Malaysia, having been called up twice earlier. We’re in a challenging situation and I hope I can offer something special for the team,’’ said Zhafri.
He added that Malaysia would be facing a different Kyrgyzstan this time as they will be playing in their own backyard, compared to the side that Pan-gon’s men defeated 4-3 in Bukit Jalil in November last year.
“The coach has told us to expect a different ball game and we’ll be on guard.’’
