Southeast Asia

SEA Best Players NOT Selected for the National Team

By: , May 31, 2019 6:07 pm
Credit – portfootballclubofficial

Today, we look at some of the best players who were NOT given the chance to represent their country during the upcoming international break. With Thailand and Vietnam playing in the King’s Cup in Buriram, while Malaysia face Timor Leste in the first round of 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying, the upcoming fixtures could be crucial for the development of national sides across South-East Asia. Here is a list of players we think should be taking to the field for their country next week, but have been denied the chance.

Vietnam

Name: Mac Hong Quan

Age: 27

Position: Central Midfielder/Attacking Midfielder/Striker

Club: Than Quang Ninh

Mac Hong Quan has been the key player of Than Quang Ninh with his versailty. His two goals from last night against Viettel helped him become the joint-top scorer (amongst domestic players) with Nguyen Van Toan at 5 goals.

Mac Hong Quan has never played in the national team since the arrival of coach Park Hang-seo in November 2017. Coach Park tend to use the players who have worked with him before, despite their form is good or not. That seems like the main reason why Hong Quan has been left and denied his chance.

Thailand

Name: Elias Dolah

Age: 26

Position: Center Back

Club: Port FC

With captain and defensive partner David Rochela sidelined to injury, Elias Dolah raised his game and propelled Port FC to the top of the Thai League table. The towering center-back handled aerial threats excellently and is strong in his challenges. The Port Lions currently hold T1's joint-3rd best defensive record, maintain the best goal difference (+15), and are yet to be beaten at home this season.

The whole Thai League fanbase has been cheering for Elias to be called up by the national team and was quite puzzled when his name wasn't there. In the league this year, he has already proven himself defensively to be one of the best, if not THE best, of the center-backs available for coach Sirisak. Our guess is that Elias might be excluded for his inferior passing compared to the other center-backs such as Adisorn Promsak or Suphan Thongsong.

Indonesia

Name: Hari Nur Yulianto

Age: 29

Position: Striker

Club: PSIS Semarang

Hari Nur scored 2 goals so far, an amount even better than strikers who were called up like Irfan Bachdim and Irfan Jaya. He can play not only as a center forward, but play wider when Silvio Escobar plays as a target-man for PSIS.

He's not too old to be the national striker, look at Beto Goncalves; Brazilian-naturalized striker who now 38 and has been a national team regular since 2018. Maybe it's the status of a player at a mediocre club which means that the selectors are a bit hesitant to give him a chance to play with the national team.

Malaysia

Name: Farhan Roslan

Age: 22

Position: Left Winger/Attacking Midfielder

Club: Kedah FA

Farhan returned from a devastating injury this season and was close to being excluded from the Kedah team. However, since completing his recovery, the situation has turned on its head this season. Farhan has been brilliant in midfield to support Kedah's attacking efforts. His highlight of this season so far came from the game against PKNS FC when he assisted two goals for Kedah.

Farhan might have managed to regain his confidence, but he still failed to convince Tan Cheng Hoe to list him. Furthermore, Tan Cheng Hoe prefers to use players like Akhyar or Safawi in the wing, making it difficult for Farhan to displace the promising JDT duo.