It is reported that Malaysia U23 coach Nafuzi Zain has favored Scottish striker Fergus Tierney too much during the preparation for the Southeast Asian U23 tournament. This tournament takes place from July 15 to July 29 in the two cities of Bekasi and Jakarta (Indonesia).
The problem is that Fergus Tierney's form is not good at the moment, he just returned to Malaysia not long ago, after ending his loan contract at Nakhon Pathum United, a team in Thailand's lower league.
Scottish-born striker Fergus Tierney of Malaysia U23 was criticized for his poor performance, but is still favored (Photo: FAM).
Therefore, the presence of Fergus Tierney in the U23 Malaysia squad is considered unworthy by a part of this country's football fans. Fergus Tierney is 22 years old this year, 1m86 tall. He participated in the U23 Southeast Asian tournament in 2023, but did not make any special impression.
The above information began to spread in the Southeast Asian football world, and CNN Indonesia reported: "There is a name about a naturalized player in the U23 Malaysia team that is a topic of debate among fans on the internet."
“That is striker Fergus Tierney, who was born in Scotland. It seems that there is a reluctance when coach Nafuzi Zain trusts this player. That has caused the coach of the Malaysian U23 team to be bothered by criticism from Malaysian football fans in recent days,” CNN Indonesia added.
The reason why the Indonesian media is especially interested in U23 Malaysia is because U23 Malaysia will be in Group A with the young team of the archipelago country at the 2025 U23 Southeast Asian tournament. In this group, there are two other teams, Brunei and the Philippines.
Recently, Malaysian football has relied too much on naturalized players (Photo: FAM).
In response to domestic public opinion, Coach Nafuzi Zain spoke up to defend his student: "I choose players based on the criteria I set, which is to focus on the players' physique, physical strength and spirit."
“What is important to me is to play in front of the thousands of Malaysian fans who will be in Indonesia for the Southeast Asian U23 tournament. If I can play in that atmosphere, I will not be bothered by the reactions that are happening at the moment,” added Malaysia U23 coach Nafuzi Zain.
Recently, Malaysian football has relied too much on naturalized players. The country’s national team recently used naturalized players to overcome the Vietnamese team in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers.
Currently, they hope that the naturalized player will also help U23 Malaysia aim for the title at the U23 Southeast Asian tournament. In previous regional U23 tournaments, Malaysia has never won the championship. Meanwhile, U23 Vietnam is the defending champion of this tournament.
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/u23-malaysia-uu-tien-cau-thu-nhap-tich-du-giai-u23-dong-nam-a-20250703112605995.htm
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