M'sian Football Team Defender Aidil Zafuan Says Coach Will Decide If He Is To Play Against Macau

SEPANG (Selangor, Malaysia), March 26 (Bernama)-- National football team defender Aidil Zafuan Abdul Radzak has left it up to Harimau Malaysia coach Ong Kim Swee to decide if he should be named in the squad for the class 'A' international friendly against Macau at Stadium Hang Jebat, Melaka, on Tuesday. The JDT central defender suffered a groin injury during Malaysia's 0-2 defeat to Saudi Arabia in their final Group A qualifying round match for the 2018 World Cup/2019 Asian Cup at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, early Friday. "I will see how the recovery process is for the injury I have sustained... it is up to the coach to decide on the next match. "If I can recover before the match against Macau, God willing, I will play, but I will see the final decision of the coach later," he said. Aidil was speaking to reporters upon the squad's arrival from Jeddah at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) here. Commenting on the defeat, Aidil admitted there were still some shortcomings which needed to be overcome by the national squad for the upcoming matches. "In terms of defence, we are quite good, only our attacking is a bit lacklustre. "For me, a match against a team like Saudi Arabia is where we can learn a lot of things for us to improve on," explained the Negeri Sembilan state native. Meanwhile, Kim Swee said the squad had learned a lot from the 2018 World Cup qualifying round, especially in terms of avoiding heavy defeats. "I also found in this campaign we defended a lot...not one, but all of the players worked hard including (captain) Safiq Rahim," said Kim Swee. He was also confident that performances would continue to improve if the players, particularly in defence, could maintain a strong display as exhibited against Saudi Arabia. Kim Swee said for the match against Macau, only one more player, Nazirul Naim Che Hashim of Perak will be called up, while the existing 25 players would remain. "Aidil will undergo rehabilitation training with the team doctor in Malaysia's state Melaka, but no player will be dropped," he explained. The loss means Malaysia will have to overcome a two-legged knockout tie ahead of the third qualifying round for the 2019 Asian Cup. -- BERNAMA