KUALA LUMPUR: Safee Sali earned a recall to the national team after an absence of almost a year for the final phase of preparation for the AFF Cup in Yangon next month.
The Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) striker scored five goals when Malaysia won the AFF Cup in 2010 and is also the leading Malaysian scorer in the competition with nine goals alongside Indra Putra Mahayuddin.
But Safee has not played for the national team since making the last of his 75 appearances in a World Cup qualifier against the United Arab Emirates in November last year, after finding himself in a bit role in the Super League and FA Cup champions JDT this year.
Given the chronic lack of goals by Malaysia this year, however, national coach Datuk Ong Kim Swee rolled the dice and handed the 30 year-old Safee a recall in the hope of boosting the national team's forward line.
"Safee was called up to strengthen the attack, given his experience and reputation," said Ong in a Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) statement on Friday.
"He can also guide the younger players in the team like Ahmad Hazwan Bakri in the forward line. Although he has not played much for his club, we have two weeks of centralised training which will allow me to rectify our weaknesses, not just in attack but across the team," he said.
The 26 players called up will report for training on Tuesday following the conclusion of the Super League on Saturday, with the exception of eight players from Kedah and Selangor, who meet in the Malaysia Cup final on Oct 30.
Malaysia will play Papua New Guinea in a friendly match on Nov 14 at the Shah Alam Stadium before leaving for Yangon two days later for Group B matches against Myanmar, Vietnam and the AFF Cup qualifying round winners.
Five players from the squad, which drew against Singapore and Afghanistan this month, have been dropped. They are Police duo Abdul Latiff Suhaimi and Fakrul Aiman Sidid, Selangor's Adam Nor Azlin, Fazrul Hazli Kadri of Perak and JDT’s Azrif Nasrulhaq Badrul Hisham.
"From our observation, these 26 players are the best that are available and it has been a tough job trying to find the best players for each position," added Ong, who has been tasked by the FAM to lead the team to the AFF Cup final.
SQUAD - Goalkeepers: Khairul Fahmi Che Mat (Kelantan), Hafizul Hakim Khairul Nizam Jothy (Perak), Khairul Azhan Khalid (Selangor)
Defenders: Fadhli Shas (Darul Ta'zim), Khairul Helmi Johari, Rizal Ghazali (both Kedah), Ahmad Khuzaimi Piee (Malacca), Matthew Davies (Pahang), Nazirul Naim Che Hashim (Perak), Ronny Harun (Sarawak), Shahrom Kalam (Selangor)
Midfielders: Amri Yahyah (Darul Ta'zim), Ahmad Fakri Saarani, Hadin Azman (both Felda United), Irfan Fazail, Zaquan Adha Radzak (Johor), Baddrol Bakhtiar, Syazwan Zainon (both Kedah), Nasir Basharuddin, Shahrul Saad (both Perak), S. Veenod (Selangor), Safawi Rashid (T-Team)
Forwards: Safee Sali (Darul Ta'zim), Darren Lok (Johor), Ahmad Hazwan Bakri (Selangor); Norshahrul Idlan Talaha (Terengganu).