25 U-15 players selected for CFA tournament in Haikou City

KUALA LUMPUR, July 15 (Bernama) -- Twenty-five players were selected by the national Under-15 (U-15) coach, P. Maniam to participate in the China Football Association (CFA) U-15 Championship to be held at Haikou City from July 16 to 23.

Among them, was Raja Muhammad Haikarl Raja Mohammad Zahari, the National Football Development Programme (NFDP) trainee who would be going for training with Cerezo Osaka, Japan's League 1 professional football club academy, in Osaka, Japan in August.

The U-15 squad would depart for China tomorrow (16th July) and would start their campaign against Iran on July 18, China (July 20) and North Korea (July 22).

The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) in a statement said their participation was in preparation for the 2019 AFF U-15 Championship which will start from July 24 to Aug 10 in Chonburi, Thailand and 23 players will be selected for the tournament after returning from China.

The squad under Maniam was drawn in Group B together with hosts Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Brunei and Australia.

Malaysia would face Brunei in their opening match on July 28 and this would be followed by Cambodia (July 30), Australia (Aug 1), Laos (Aug 3) and Thailand (Aug 5).

For the record, Malaysia emerged champions in the 2013 edition after defeating Indonesia 3-1 through a penalty shootout after drawing 1-1, and in last year’s edition, they settled for third place after a 1-0 win over Myanmar.

The list of 25 national U-15 players:

Goalkeeper: Zulhilmi Sharani, Ahmad Azeem Izhar Ahmad Faizal, Adika Arman Azmi (AMD B-15).

Defender: Muhammad Daniel Edzuan Mohd Anuar, Adam Daniel Mohamad, Muhammad Kholil Ahmad Azian, Adam Farhan Mohd Faizal, Muhammad Alif Farhan Fauzi, Ahmad Rozaini Abu Bakar, Muhammad Yasser Sarifuddin (AMD B-15).

Midfielder: Mohammad Afiq Amsyar Mohd Zarizal, Mohammad Ashraf Ahmad, Muhammad Adam Uwais Mohd Armi, Danish Irfan Ezal, Muhammad Nabil Qayyum Zainuddin, Muhammad Izrin Ibrahim, Wan Muhammad Hakim Wan Mohd Nazri, Raja Muhammad Haikarl Raja Mohammad Zahari (AMD B-15); Irfan Shakimi Shahrizal (JDT B-15); Radzilah Helmi Roizat (SMK Ibrahim Fikri).

Striker: Mohamad Khairil Mohd Zain, Muhammad Aliff Izwan Yuslan, Muhammad Shahril Sobri, Zubaidi Mohd Buang (AMD B-15), Muhammad Harry Danish Mohd Haizon (SSTMI B-15).

-- BERNAMA