Tomorrow, three Selangor FC players, Brendan Gan, Khairulazhan Khalid, and Syahmi Safari will join the Harimau Malaya squad traveling to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to face the remaining qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup and 2023 Asian Cup.

The national squad is scheduled to play against the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Vietnam, and Thailand starting June 3 after successfully finishing 2nd in Group G with 9 points accumulated.

Unlike the previous first round, all of these matches took place in the UAE and were held in a sports bubble, in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

On the other hand, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has recently confirmed that North Korea has withdrawn from continuing the remainder of the tournament. Therefore, all match results against the lowest-ranked team in all groups (Indonesia) will not be counted.

This result will have a big impact on the national side as it affects the chances of qualifying for the third round of the tournament because previously, Malaysia has recorded two victories over Indonesia.

However, Selangor FC’s skipper, Brendan Gan, who is also one of the key players of the national squad remains confident that his fellow teammates will give their best to ensure victory in the remaining three matches.

“Situations like this mean that the team needs to focus on themselves as well as make sure to give their best to win the remaining matches so we don’t have to worry about the decision on North Korea’s withdrawal,” Brendan explained.

"Even though the situation is becoming more difficult, I’m confident and believe my teammates will focus on every match and give their best performance to earn maximum points."

The latest development, however, has made the Harimau Malaya more optimistic to reach a new milestone by ensuring that Malaysia qualifies for the Asian Cup and the next round of the World Cup qualifiers on merit.

"All the players are highly motivated to give their best to the country. We must take full advantage of the opportunities available and give everything to make a new history for Malaysia," he added.

The national squad still has a chance to get an automatic slot to the 2023 Asian Cup and advance to the third round of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers if they get the second-best place in the group stage.

Selangor FC wishes the national team the best of luck in facing the 2022 World Cup and 2023 Asian Cup qualifiers. Come on, Malaysia!

Demi kebanggaan.