KUALA LUMPUR, March 11 — National Under-23 squad skipper Muhammad Mukhairi Ajmal Mahadi aspires to return to the senior national squad (Harimau Malaya) after missing the opportunity to represent the country during the 2023 Asian Cup competition held in Qatar last January.

The 23-year-old midfielder from Selangor FC must however, outshine the senior players in the current senior squad to show head coach Kim Pan Gon that he deserves a place in the Harimau Malaya squad that resumes its journey in Group D of the second round 2026 World Cup Qualifier/Asia Cup 2027.

Malaysia, ranked 132 in the Fifa World Ranking list, will face Oman at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Muscat on March 22 (2am Malaysian time) before hosting Qatar, ranked 80th, at the Nasional Stadium in Bukit Jalil on March 26.

"I certainly want to be in the squad that will face Oman and I will do my very best during the centralised training camp...I feel the current squad’s match approach is different since we have already qualified for the Asia Cup.

"What I have seen is that the intencity of the players is also different, very fast paced, therefore, I must rectify weaknesses and improve my performance to meet the expectations of the coach,” he said when met during the National squad’s training session at Wisma FAM, Kelana Jaya, yesterday.

Mukhairi added that Malaysia need to be wary of the Oman squad’s fitness level and physical condition because the country’s league is in progress while players in the Harimau Malaya squad are just beginning their pre-season preparations for the M-League which starts in May.

Pan Gon’s charges will tune up for the Oman match by playing against Nepal in a closed-door match at Wisma FAM on March 15 before leaving to Muscat on March 17.

Malaysia currently head Group D with six points, followed by Qatar and Kyrgyzstan with three points each in second and third places respectively while Taiwan are at the bottom of the group with no points.

Despite being the skipper of the U-23 squad, Mukhairi will have to compete for a first team place against the likes of Endrick Dos Santos, Mohamed Syamer Kutty Abba, Brendan Gan, Stuart Wilkin who represented the country at the 2023 Asian Games and Selangor team mate Nooa Laine.

The last time Mukhairi represented the Harimau Malaya squad was when Malaysia defeated Kyrgyrzstan 4-3 and Taiwan 1-0 in the first two matches of the Group D World Cup Qualifier 2026/Asia Cup 2027 last year, but was not fielded.

Prior to the qualifier, Mukhairi who was in the 2023 Merdeka Cup competition last October, had also failed to gain any playing moments.

However, he played in the squad when Malaysia beat Solomon Islands 4-1 and Papua New Guinea 10-0 in Terengganu, last June.

Playing in the match against Oman will certainly serve as a motivation and give Mukhairi some valuable experience before leading the U-23 squad that competes in the 2024 Under-23 Asia Cup in Qatar, next month. — Bernama