Sarawakian Joseph Kallang Tie and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) player K. Reuben are among the players who are in contention to fill the void left by national skipper Mohd Safiq Rahim.
The national team will be without Safiq, who has been excluded from the national team due to a dip in form, for the international friendly against Australia in Canberra on Oct 7.
National coach Datuk K. Rajagopal tested several players for the position in a 3-0 win over the SEA Games team coached by Ong Kim Swee at Wisma FAM yesterday.
The senior team’s goals were scored by Norshahrul Idlan Tahala (36th minute), Baddrol Bakhtiar (48th) and Shahrizal Saad (88th).
Mohd Khyril Muhymeen Zambri, Shahrizal Saad and Baddrol were also tested in the central midfield position besides regular Amar Rohidan.
The other regular in midfield K. Gurusamy did not feature in the friendly match as he was carrying a slight injury.
Reuben and Joseph are the only uncapped players given the opportunity to fill up the void left by Safiq.
“Joseph did well in the middle of the midfield and he’s a good option for Safiq,” said Rajagopal.
“I wanted to see the combination among the players and I’m happy with the player’s commitment.
“I want to leave a message to the national players who are left behind, I hope they improve their showing in the on going Malaysia Cup.”
Rajagopal admitted that his side face an uphill task against the Australian but he expects his players to prove their worth in the friendly.
Malaysia last defeated Australia 1-0 with the goal from P. Ravindran in the Indonesian Independence Cup in 1992.
“It’s not going to be an easy match, we are playing a top side after 20 years and it will be a good test for us,” said Rajagopal.
“The level of football has changed since than and this match will be a good learning curve for our players.”
Rajagopal will announce the list of 22 players for the trip today before leaving for Canberra at 6pm.
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