KUALA LUMPUR: Faisal Halim has admitted he was surprised that his goal against South Korea at the recent Asian Cup in Qatar has been nominated for the Goal of the Tournament.
A poll by fans on the-afc.com , has winger Faisal leading by a huge margin, ahead of English Premier League superstar Son Heung Min and Jordan captain Mousa Al Tamari.
Faisal captured the imagination of fans when on receiving the ball from Darren Lok, he bamboozled Bayern Munich centreback Kim Min Jae, rated as one of the best defenders in the world, and goalkeeper Jo Hyeon Woo with his jinking runs before scoring.
The 26-year-old Selangor player said the recognition of his goal is a confidence booster for him ahead of the 2024-2025 M-League season.
"When FAM uploaded the goal, I was excited and shocked because our team (Malaysia) are ranked far lower than the others who were listed.
"It was a big stage (Asian award), so this will motivate me to start a new season.
"But I think there's still plenty of time for me to achieve much more in my career," said Faisal.
As of 1pm yesterday, Faisal was leading the Asian Cup Goal of the Tournament votes with 64 per cent (67,558 votes), Al Tamari second at 22 per cent (23,167) and Heung Min third at nine per cent (9,515).
Others listed in the voting are Sardar Azmoun of Iran at three per cent (3,125), Thailand's Supachok Sarachat at two per cent (1,980), Keito Nakamura of Japan (380), Qatar's Hassan Al Haydos (320) and Saudi Arabia's Abdulrahman Ghareeb (220).