Olympic squad trainee Izzaq Faris Ramlan and Terengganu's Ismail Faruqi Ashari both received late call-ups from national coach K. Rajagobal for tomorrow's match against Liverpool. Izzaq is regarded as one of the brightest young strikers in the country. The Kuala Terengganu-born player, who has been in-and-out of the national senior squad over the past year, will definitely add sting upfront if he plays tomorrow.
Rajagobal hopes Ismail's inclusion will add creativity to his team's midfield.
The coach, disappointed with his team's 4-0 defeat to Arsenal on Wednesday, wants his players to get their game back on track against Liverpool before facing Singapore in next week's World Cup Qualifiers second round, first leg match.
Centre-back Aidil Zafuan Abd Radzak and Norshahrul Idlan Talaha will both be rested. Negri Sembilan defender Aidil Zafuan is down with an ankle injury while Norshahrul has been told to rest.
"We lost to Arsenal because our decision making was slow. Our strikers were also not playing well. I hope my players have learnt from yesterday's (Wednesday) defeat," said Rajagobal.
"My objective is to find the right combination and strategy in our last warm-up match against Liverpool. I've included Izzaq and Ismail in the hope they will provide me the options."
Rajagobal hopes his players will show more character in tomorrow's game. "They gave them (Arsenal) too much respect and thus failed to play their normal game. Let it be a lesson. I've spoken to them and they now understand what went wrong.
"They need to bounce back from this defeat immediately. I want them to play quality football on Saturday," said the coach.
An injury crisis has left the national team short of strikers. AFF Cup top-scorer Safee Sali has recovered from injury but is short on fitness while Ahmad Fakri Saraani and Norshahrul have both failed to make an impact since recovering from injuries.
Other options -- Abdul Hadi Yahya, S. Chanturu and Baddrol Baktiar -- have all failed to show quality in their game.
"Norshahrul is fine but I don't want him to aggravate his hamstring. I've decided to rest him as he was not moving well with the ball against Arsenal.
"As for Safee, he has been doing great in training but I'm undecided on whether to risk him tomorrow. Our priority is the match against Singapore. I want all my players to be fit and injury-free for that game."
Rajagobal hopes Ismail's inclusion will add creativity to his team's midfield.
The coach, disappointed with his team's 4-0 defeat to Arsenal on Wednesday, wants his players to get their game back on track against Liverpool before facing Singapore in next week's World Cup Qualifiers second round, first leg match.
Centre-back Aidil Zafuan Abd Radzak and Norshahrul Idlan Talaha will both be rested. Negri Sembilan defender Aidil Zafuan is down with an ankle injury while Norshahrul has been told to rest.
"We lost to Arsenal because our decision making was slow. Our strikers were also not playing well. I hope my players have learnt from yesterday's (Wednesday) defeat," said Rajagobal.
"My objective is to find the right combination and strategy in our last warm-up match against Liverpool. I've included Izzaq and Ismail in the hope they will provide me the options."
Rajagobal hopes his players will show more character in tomorrow's game. "They gave them (Arsenal) too much respect and thus failed to play their normal game. Let it be a lesson. I've spoken to them and they now understand what went wrong.
"They need to bounce back from this defeat immediately. I want them to play quality football on Saturday," said the coach.
An injury crisis has left the national team short of strikers. AFF Cup top-scorer Safee Sali has recovered from injury but is short on fitness while Ahmad Fakri Saraani and Norshahrul have both failed to make an impact since recovering from injuries.
Other options -- Abdul Hadi Yahya, S. Chanturu and Baddrol Baktiar -- have all failed to show quality in their game.
"Norshahrul is fine but I don't want him to aggravate his hamstring. I've decided to rest him as he was not moving well with the ball against Arsenal.
"As for Safee, he has been doing great in training but I'm undecided on whether to risk him tomorrow. Our priority is the match against Singapore. I want all my players to be fit and injury-free for that game."
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