NILAI: National coach Tan Cheng Hoe acknowledged that he is having difficulties in selecting players for the final 23 man squad for the Asean Football Federation (AFF) Cup which takes place next month.
The 50-year-old former Kedah coach said all 26 players picked for centralised training have shown their best in terms of physical and tactical performances.
“This is a positive sign indeed, but it makes my job of selecting players very difficult.
“I am worried about their compatibility and finding the most effective combination, as some of the players do not feature often for the national team,” said Cheng Hoe after overseeing the national squad’s training session at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) here earlier today (Saturday).
With this in mind, Cheng Hoe said the final 23 man squad for the AFF Cup would be announced after the final friendly match against the Maldives at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on November 3 (Saturday).
Commenting further, Cheng Hoe is hoping Harimau Malaya can pick up three points from two preliminary Group A matches against Cambodia and Laos.
Malaysia will start their AFF Cup campaign at the Olympic Stadium in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on November 8 (Thursday), before hosting Laos at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil four days later.
The national squad will then face Vietnam at the My Dinh Stadium in Hanoi on November 16 (Friday), before playing hosts to Myanmar in Bukit Jalil on November 24 (Saturday).
The FA of Malaysia (FAM) has set the target of qualifying for the AFF Cup final for the national squad. — BERNAMA