KUALA LUMPUR – Nooa Laine’s absence from Selangor FC for the national training camp will not only benefit him if selected for the 2026 World Cup/2027 Asian Cup qualifiers, but also his younger teammates, who will be given more game time.
Selangor FC head coach Nidzam Jamil expressed no concerns over national team head coach Kim Pan-gon selecting only Nooa from his squad for the upcoming qualifiers.
“I respect Pan-gon’s decision and am prepared to give some of our younger midfielders more game time if Nooa is selected for the qualifiers,” said the 40-year-old coach.
His comments followed Selangor’s 4-0 victory over Negeri Sembilan FC in their second Malaysia Super League match, which drew 10,365 fans at MBPJ Stadium yesterday.
“I have no issues with coach Pan-gon choosing only one player from our team for Harimau Malaya. I respect his decisions and the players he selected from other clubs.
“I’m happy for Nooa being selected for the national camp, and his absence will not affect our preparation for upcoming Super League fixtures.
“I’ll ensure other players get game time and are well-prepared for the rest of the tournaments this year,” said Nidzam after the match.
Nooa, aged 21, is the sole representative from the Red Giants in the national training camp’s 26-player pool.
He has made five appearances for Harimau Malaya since debuting against Turkmenistan in a friendly in March last year.
The Finland-born heritage player has also made seven appearances for the national under-23 team.
Most of the 26 players selected by Pan-gon are from Johor Darul Ta’zim FC, which has contributed seven players – Syihan Hazmi, Matthew Davies, Feroz Baharudin, Shahrul Saad, Corbin-Ong, Endrick, and Declan Lambert.
Four players each are from Sabah FC (Dominic Tan, Daniel Ting, Stuart Wilkin, and Darren Lok), Terengganu FC (Safawi Rashid, Akhyar Rashid, Safwan Mazlan, and Engku Syakir), three each from Penang FC (Sikh Izhan, Syamer Kutty Abba, and Adib Ra’op), and Kuala Lumpur City FC (Brendan Gan, Paulo Josue, and Haqimi Azim).
Pan-gon also selected two players from Kedah FC (Kalamullah Al-Hafiz and Syafiq Ahmad) and one from Buriram United FC (Dion Cools).
Harimau Malaya will face Kyrgyzstan on June 6 and Chinese Taipei on June 11 in the qualifiers. – May 27, 2024