Vicente To Focus On Current Squad, New Heritage Players Must Prove Capability

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 9 (Bernama) -- National football team head coach Pau Marti Vicente remains focused on the current team, expressing confidence in the quality of Harimau Malaya while acknowledging that new heritage players will need to earn their spot.

Although Vicente is aware of the buzz surrounding several foreign-based heritage players, he declined to comment on that matter.

The Spaniard emphasised that, for now, his focus is solely on the players currently in the squad.

“I think we need to look first and I think it’s difficult to comment on the players that are not here, so if something happens and once it is confirms then we can speak about them.

“I think for now we have a lot of players, this call up to me was difficult because almost all players fit in the clubs, so we need to decide very well, I'm very happy with the quality we have and if more players are coming so they need to fight for a spot,” said Vicente.

He said that when asked about rumours regarding several foreign-based heritage players linked to Malaysia during the post-match press conference of the 2024 Pestabola Merdeka final at the National Stadium, Bukit Jalil here, last night.

Among the names mentioned by local media were English Championship’s Burnley captain Josh Brownhill and Eredivisie club Go Ahead Eagles defender Mats Deijl.

Meanwhile, on the potential inclusion of more naturalised players, Vicente stated that from a coaching perspective, they will consider any opportunity to strengthen the national team.

“I think how the world is working at this moment is that there will be more mix in every country...from the coach's side, if the players are eligible to play for the country then we need to assess and see if they are good enough to be part of the team,” he said.

Last night, Vicente led Malaysia, with its mix of local, heritage, and naturalised players to victory in the 2024 Merdeka Tournament with a 1-0 win over Lebanon, secured by a decisive goal from the Colombian-born striker Romel Morales in the final.

This victory marks Malaysia’s 13th title in the oldest football tournament in Asia, which was introduced on Aug 31 1957.

-- BERNAMA