Confirmed: Harimau Malaya lose three names from the FIFA ASEAN Cup squad — report

Malay Mail reported on 22 September that Faris Danish Asrul, Sergio Aguero and Romel Morales are out of the Harimau Malaya party for the FIFA ASEAN Cup, with three replacements coming in.

The list FAM published

FAM named 23 players on 17 September for the tournament in Jakarta and Bandung, chosen by interim head coach Tan Cheng Hoe. All three men are on that list — Faris Danish Asrul with the Johor Darul Ta’zim second string, Sergio Aguero at PSM Makassar and Romel Morales at Terengganu FC.

The same release carried a standby list of 13 further names, set out separately from the 23.

Where the squad comes from

Nine of them are at Johor Darul Ta’zim, and a tenth at the club’s second team. Three are at Selangor FC, three at Terengganu FC, two at Kuching City FC and one at Negeri Sembilan FC, while four play their club football outside Malaysia.

Tan Cheng Hoe kept only five of the 25 players he took to the ASEAN Championship in July and August.

What the squad is walking into

Harimau Malaya open the group stage against Bangladesh at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta on 25 September, kicking off at 17:00 Malaysian time. Indonesia follow at the same ground on 28 September, and Singapore at Si Jalak Harupat Stadium in Bandung on 1 October. That is three matches in seven days, all of them away from Malaysia.

Their last competitive football was the ASEAN Championship semi-final in August, lost over two legs to Vietnam — 0-2 at home on 16 August and 2-0 at My Dinh National Stadium in Hanoi on 19 August.

Related

• FAM sets the next matchdays in Piala Presiden and Piala Belia
• FAM names the final 23 for the FIFA ASEAN Cup, with three replacements confirmed