CKLAMOVSKI'S SQUAD BRIMMING WITH EXPERIENCE, DETERMINATION, CREATIVITY - ANALYST

KUALA LUMPUR, March 14 (Bernama) -- The players called up by national head coach Peter Cklamovski ahead of their match against Nepal seem to provide the Harimau Malaya squad with a good balance, said local football analyst Assoc Prof Dr Mohamad Nizam Nazarudin.

The Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) Faculty of Education Sports and Recreation senior lecturer said Cklamovski's squad has a good mixture of senior and youth players as well as speed, creativity and physical strength in every position, thus giving him the chance to forge a more dynamic outfit.

He said the presence of midfielders like Natxo Insa, Stuart Wilkin and Endrick Dos Santos ahead of their opening Group F match in the 2027 Asian Cup Qualifiers would give Malaysia an advantage in terms of controlling the game tempo.

"As for the attack, the national team do seem to have variety in terms of strategy, with the speed of winger Arif Aiman, Faisal Halim and Muhammad Akhyar, the accurate passes of Matthew Daview and La'vere Corbin-Ong and the clinical finishing of Paulo Josue.

"Dion Cools and Corbin-Ong, meanwhile provide stability to the backline with their experience and discipline,” he told Bernama today.

However, the former Sabah FC head of Sports Science and Performance Analyst feels that there are areas that need to be improved, particularly the lack of a natural striker in the squad.

 He believes that Josue is the only natural striker in the team as Romel Morales and Mohamadou Sumareh are more versatile players who can play across the frontline.

"In addition, Sumareh may not be at his best as he hasn't been playing regularly at club level and may not be physically fit,” he said.

Mohamad Nizam also said that the absence of new heritage players in the squad this time should not be considered a disadvantage because the team still have quality players capable of getting the job done at the international level. 

"The absence of new heritage players should not be an issue because statistics show that Malaysia are still a more dominant side, overall. Nepal have only scored one goal in four outings against Malaysia since 2008.

Meanwhile, he described the return of Mohammad Faisal Abdul Halim, who has recovered after being splashed with acid last year, as a positive development for the Selangor FC player himself as well as for the Harimau Malaya.

"Faisal Halim gives the team an extra edge with his silky skills and creativity… an X factor in attack and the capability to exploit Nepal's weaknesses. Faisal's presence in the team will not only lift his teammates’ morale but also allow Cklamovski to try out various tactical permutations,” he said.

In addition to Faisal Halim's return to the team, most Harimau Malaya supporters also harped on the absence of new heritage players following yesterday's announcement of the 27 players called up for the national training squad in Johor Bahru starting from Monday (March 17).

Cklamovski also confirmed yesterday that three new heritage players are expected to arrive next week, with their player registration processes in the final phase.

World number 132 Malaysia will take on world number 175 Nepal at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Iskandar Puteri, Johor on March 25, with the Harimau Malaya looking to qualify for the Asian Cup Finals for the second consecutive time, having played in the 2023 edition in Doha, Qatar.

-- BERNAMA