PETALING JAYA: The King’s Cup tournament, scheduled to begin next week in Chiang Mai, Thailand may just very well be where Kalamullah Al-Hafiz Mat Rowi (pix) will make his debut with the national team.
The Petaling Jaya City goalkeeper said the absence of Farizal Marlias in the Harimau Malaya squad this time opened up an opportunity for him and two other goalkeepers who were called up for selection as national goalkeeper.
Apart from Kalamullah, two other goalkeepers bound for Chiang Mai are Rahadiazli Rahalim, the U-23 squad keeper and Ahmad Syihan Hazmi Mohamed from Negeri Sembilan FC.
“This is the best chance for me to prove myself in the national squad. I have to prove it in the training sessions.
“All three keepers are good. Farizal’s absence opens up an opportunity for us and we will try our best. Whoever is given the opportunity to be the main goalkeeper will definitely do his best,“ Kalamullah said when met before the national squad training session at Wisma FAM here today.
Kalamullah said he was confident in his current performance, especially after helping PJ City to a draw against FA Cup champions, Johor Darul Taazim last Thursday.
The PJ City goalkeeper has been called up four times to join the national team but has yet to make any appearances.
Meanwhile, defender Declan Lambert, who was called up for the first time to participate in the centralised training camp of the national squad, hopes to give his best performance and make all the national football fans proud.
“It is a good thing to be called up to the national team and I’m proud to represent my country, Malaysia. My personal target is to keep getting the next call-up and the next one after that, but for now, I am here to learn. So hopefully I want to try and impress the coaches,” he said.
Malaysia, ranked 148th in the world are drawn to face Thailand (111th) on Sept 22 (Thursday), while Trinidad & Tobago (101st) will face Tajikistan (109th).
The winners of the two matches will meet in the final on Sept 25, while the losers will battle it out for the third place.-Bernama
