KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's Arif Aiman Hanapi has been listed among the world's top-40 men's best international goalscorers of 2023 — on the same level as Portugal's Manchester United star, Bruno Fernandes.
Arif, who is ranked joint world No. 19 with Fernandes, is also listed by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) as a star to watch out for at the Asian Cup on Jan 12-Feb 10 in Doha, Qatar.
That also put the Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) ace in the same bracket as South Korea captain and Tottenham Hotspur captain Son Heung Min.
Arif and Heung Min are among 22 players highlighted by AFC for the Asian showpiece.
The others touted by AFC are Lebanon's Mostafa Matar, Palestine's Oday Dab-bagh, Oman's Jameel Al Yahmadi, Qatar's Akram Afif, Saudi Arabia's Salem Al Dawsari, Tajikistan's Alisher Dzhalilov, Syria's Omar Khrbin, United Arab Emirates's Ali Mabkhout, Thailand's Chanathip Songkrasin, Uzbekistan's Jaliloddin Masharipov, Vietnam's Pham Tuan Hai, Jordan's Musa Al Taamari, Japan's Takefusa Kubo, Iran's Mehdi Taremi, Iraq's Ali Al Hamadi, Indonesia's Asnawi Mangkualam, India's Sunil Chhetri, Hong Kong's Everton Amargo, China's Wu Lei, Bahrain's Komail Al Aswad and Australia's Maty Ryan.
Arif scored a total of nine international goals - six for Harimau Malaya and three for JDT in the Asian Champions League last year.
Based on statistics from the International Federation of Football (IFFHS), Arif is listed on its world's top-40 men's best international goalscorers of 2023.
The federation calculates statistics based on full international games and major international club competitions from Jan 1-Dec 31, 2023.
The pint-sized 22-year-old Arif said: "Dribbling is a part of me. Without it, I wouldn't have anything to show for on the pitch."
The other Malaysian on the IFFHS list is Darren Lok in tied 22nd position with nine goals. He shared the accolades with Brazilian Rodrygo, Kenya's Michael Olunga and Salem Al Dawsari.
Darren scored three goals for Malaysia and six goals for Sabah in their AFC Cup campaign.
Though Arif and Darren scored nine international goals each, IFFHS has its own criteria in ranking players based on the level of international competitions.
World No. l30 Malaysia, making a return to the Asian Cup on merit after 42 years, will play No. 87 Jordan on Jan 15, No. 86 Bahrain on Jan 20 and No. 23 South Korea on Jan 25 in Group E.
