The national under-23 squad completed their three domestic friendly matches yesterday with wins over two Super League teams and a narrow defeat against the 2021 Premier League champions.

Brad Maloney, the head coach of the national under-23 squad, gave the minutes of the game to all the players, including the eight Selangor FC players who joined the training camp in the friendly match.

Several young Selangor FC players are seen as Brad Maloney's key figures in the friendly match, including Zikri Khalili, the left-back of the Selangor FC main squad who was also given the captaincy role to lead the team.

Zikri also managed to score his first goal in the 28th minute in the match against Kedah DA yesterday.

Brad Maloney also praised the versatility of Zikri who can play in various positions apart from having leadership qualities on the field and stated that he is capable of being an important national asset in the future based on his performances.

"I am happy to see the performance shown by Zikri because he has done his job perfectly in communicating with his teammates throughout the match and has shown good leadership, especially in the defensive part," he said.

"In fact, his advantage of playing in various positions such as left-back, midfielder, and the winger is an important asset for the team and the country in the future. For now, I trust him in the team's central defense."

Apart from that, Azrin Afiq, left-back of Selangor FC 2, is also among the players listed as the main eleven players in all three matches, apart from Faiz Amer and Saravanan Thirumurugan who are also the latest players to don the national under-23 squad jersey.

In their latest friendly match yesterday, two other Selangor FC players, Harith Haiqal and Mukhairi Ajmal were included in the second half of the match after being given the green light to join the national B23 squad.

The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has also released the final list of players selected to join the national under-23 squad. Eight Selangor FC players; Mukhairi Ajmal, Sikh Izhan, Zikri Khalili, Azrin Afiq, Faiz Amer, Fahmi Daniel, Saravanan Thirumurugan, and Harith Haiqal will carry Malaysia's name to Mongolia.

Brad Maloney's squad will leave for Ulaanbaatar on Wednesday, October 20, 2021, to face Group J of the Under-23 Asian Cup Qualifiers against Laos on October 25, 2021 (3.00 pm), followed by action against the host, Mongolia on October 28, 2021 (11.00 pm) and the last match against Thailand on 31 October 2021 (11.00 am).

Selangor FC wishing the best of luck to the national under-23 squad to book a place in the final round of the B-23 2022 Asian Cup in Uzbekistan in June 2022. Good luck Harimau Muda!

Demi kebanggaan.