Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) defender Aidil Zafuan admits that he missed playing for Malaysia when he announced his premature international retirement a year ago, and is eager to make his comeback against Lebanon on June 13.
Aidil, who quit the national team along with JDT teammates Amirulhadi Zainal, S. Kunanlan and Safiq Rahim last June, was named in Nelo Vingada's 26-man squad for the first AFC Asian Cup qualifier at Larkin Stadium.
"To be honest, I have missed playing for the national team and am honoured to receive a call up," Aidil told Utusan.
"We have new coach now and few new faces to the team, so the initial training sessions will be to get to know each other."
The centre-back is almost certain to add to his 71 international caps when Vingada sets out his first team sheet since coming on board on May 14.
The other players in his position are Shahrom Kalam and Khairul Helmi Johari, with anchorman Shahrul Saad an able deputy if needed.
Training at JDT's state-of-the-art facility at Padang Seri Gelam will benefit the national players, according to Aidil.
"The training facilities in JDT are complete, plus the national team have already trained here before. It will be a different scene from training at the Football Association of Malaysia headquarters," he said.
The last time Malaysia played at Larkin Stadium in Johor Bahru, they recorded back-to-back 3-0 wins against Timor Leste in the Asian Cup qualifying playoff last June.
Fifteen players arrived at centralised training in Johor on Monday.
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Aidil, and 10 of his JDT teammates, will join the squad after their AFC Cup ASEAN zonal semifinal, second leg, against Ceres-Negros of the Philippines on Wednesday.
The huge representation from the southern state, who have a six-point lead in the Malaysia Super League, league will boost the national team's chances against the West Asian nation.
Lebanon are Group B leaders after beating Hong Kong 2-0 on March 28.
Malaysia's first qualifier against North Korea, originally slated for March in Pyongyang, has now been pushed back until Oct. 5 due to security concerns.