Declan Lambert in action for Kuala Lumpur. - Photo by Kuala Lumpur City
PETALING JAYA: It has been a while since Declan Lambert donned the famous black and yellow jersey of Malaysia.
The 26-year-old fullback is back with Harimau Malaya after two years, with interim coach Pau Marti Vicente looking to bolster his options in the defensive side of the flanks in the AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup (AMEC) starting on Dec 8. Declan, who plays for Kuala Lumpur on-loan from Johor Darul Tazim (JDT), last played for the national team in the King’s Cup in Thailand, where he got his first cap against Thailand.
But since then, he has not been picked despite his strong performances on the domestic stage and also in the AFC Cup with Kuala Lumpur in 2022.
Playing as a leftback this season, Declan has been outstanding for the City Boys as he has proven to be a strong defensive presence on the left flanks and helping out attacks with his combination plays, especially with Bosnian left winger Jovan Motika.
Since the start of the season, many fans felt that he should have been picked for the September and October international calendar, but he was only on the standby list. Those setbacks are now put to bed as Declan will now be part of the AMEC and revealed that he is excited to be part of the premier football competition in South-East Asia.
“I am excited to be part of the AMEC. I have seen the squad announced by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), it is a good group,” said Declan.
“We will support each other and do our best in the tournament. I want to play as many games as possible and try to win them and hopefully go all the way.”
Declan, who can also play as a rightback and centreback, will compete with the likes of Daniel Ting (Sabah), Jimmy Raymond (Kuching City) and Adib Abd Raop (Penang) for one of the two fullback spots in the eleven.
The AMEC will see Malaysia competing in Group A alongside defending champions Thailand, Singapore, Cambodia and Timor-Leste.
Group B consists of the previous edition’s runners-up, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Myanmar and Laos. The top two teams from each group will advance to the semi-finals.
Declan and Co. are scheduled to report to camp in Kelana Jaya tomorrow. They will depart for Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on Friday for their first Group A match against Cambodia at the Olympic Stadium on Dec 8.
They will fly back home for the second match against Timor-Leste at the National Stadium, Bukit Jalil on Dec 11 and then fly to Bangkok, Thailand for the third match against Thailand at the Rajamangala Stadium, Bangkok on Dec 14.
