KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s Under-23 squad will head into next week’s Asian Cup qualifiers in Thailand with reputations on the line, as head coach Nafuzi Zain turns to several previously overlooked players to steady the ship after a bruising Asean Cup campaign.
The Football Association of Malaysia confirmed that defender Muhammad Ubaidullah Shamsul Fazili and strikers Muhammad Aliff Izwan Yuslan and Fergus Tierney are back in the fold for the Group F campaign in Pathum Thani.
Their earlier absence from the centralised camp in Thailand sparked questions over Nafuzi’s selections, but all three are now part of the final 23-man squad.
Ubaidullah rejoined training last week, while Aliff and Tierney – named in their Super League teams over the weekend – are expected to complete the line-up in the coming days.
Both Ubaidullah and Aliff, who have previously captained the side, are expected to bring stability and leadership, while Tierney’s return is seen as crucial to sharpening an attack that looked blunt in recent outings.
Malaysia will face Lebanon on September 3, Mongolia on September 6 and hosts Thailand on September 9, with all matches at Thammasat Stadium. Only the group winners and the four best runners-up will book a ticket to the finals in Saudi Arabia next January.
The campaign is being cast as a chance for redemption after Malaysia crashed out of the Asean U-23 Cup without clearing the group stage. It was a setback that left Nafuzi’s men facing criticism over their lack of cohesion and cutting edge.
Malaysia have a mixed record in the Asian Cup, qualifying in Uzbekistan (2022) and Qatar (2024) – but failing to progress.
Their benchmark remains the 2018 quarter-final run in China, a standard the current crop will be expected to emulate or better if they are to win back confidence. — August 31, 2025