Malaysia withdraws from friendly match with Man United, prioritizes Asian Cup qualifiers

The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has just confirmed that it will not let two pillars of the national team, Dominic Tan and Sergio Aguero, be included in the ASEAN All-Stars squad for the friendly match against Man United on May 28 at Bukit Jalil Stadium.

The decision was made because Malaysia's match schedule coincided with the event, affecting their preparations for the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers, where they will face Vietnam just two weeks later.

Previously, Malaysia had agreed to let three players including Haziq Nadzli, Dominic Tan and Sergio Aguero join the Southeast Asian All-Stars squad along with Hoang Duc, Quang Hai and Asnawi. However, up to now, two of them have withdrawn, leaving ASEAN All-Stars coach Kim Sang-sik passive in the preparation process.

Two out of three Malaysian players previously proposed to withdraw from friendly match with Man United

However, FAM has proposed five substitutes. The absence of key players from Malaysia will certainly affect the ASEAN All-Stars in what is considered a “once in a lifetime” match against Man United, a team with global reputation.

Not only Malaysia, defender Nikolas Mickelson of the Philippines team also cannot participate because his home club Odense (Denmark) does not allow him to leave the team.

In particular, the Indonesian team did not send key players but brought young faces to participate in this match to focus on the goal of winning a ticket to the 2026 World Cup.

Despite some difficulties in terms of personnel, the friendly match with Man United still received great attention from fans in the region, with more than 45,000 tickets sold in a short time.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/malaysia-rut-quan-khoi-tran-giao-huu-voi-man-united-uu-tien-vong-loai-asian-cup-196250406194157012.htm