KUALA LUMPUR: Asian Cup Goal of the Tournament award winner Faisal Halim could be in the running for the prestigious Puskas Award if nominated, according to former winner Faiz Subri.
Faiz believes Faisal's spectacular strike against South Korea in the recent Asian Cup ranks among the best goals of the year.
Faisal's strike became the talk of the town when he twisted and turned his way past Bayern Munich centre-back Kim Min Jae before beating Korean goalkeeper Jo Hyeon Woo with a swerving shot.
Faisal collected 85 per cent of the votes, far ahead of second-placed Mousa Al Tamari of Jordan (nine per cent) to win the Asian Cup Goal of the Tournament award.
Tottenham Hotspur striker Son Heung Min was third with three per cent. Iran's Sardar Azmoun and Thailand's Supachok Sarachat got one per cent each.
"If we study Faisal's goal, he was calm and composed with his movement and dribbling, confusing the Korean defenders." Faiz, who won the Puskas Award for his physics-defying free-kick goal against Pahang in the Super League in 2017
The former Penang player added: "Faisal's goal is similar to Heung Min's effort in 2020 when he showed similar inventiveness, dribbling past several Burnley defenders from his own half in the Premier League.
"The Korean ended up becoming the second Asian to win the Puskas Award."
The FA of Malaysia (FAM) said the decision to nominate Faisal's goal for the Puskas Award rests with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
In 2019, the national body nominated Syahmi Safari's wonder goal against Thailand in the AFF Cup but did not secure a spot in the top 10 list.
