KUALA LUMPUR: Players from star-studded Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) may not play when Harimau Malaya take on Nepal in a friendly here on March 15.
National coach Kim Pan Gon is unlikely to field JDT's Syihan Hazmi, Matthew Davies, La'Vere Corbin-Ong, Endrick Dos Santos, Arif Aiman Hanapi, Shahrul Saad, Syamer Kutty Abba, Junior Eldstal and Romel Morales against Nepal as they will only report hours before the friendly.
The friendly against world No. 175 Nepal is a warm-up before Harimau Malaya travel to Muscat to face No. 80 Oman in a World Cup Group D qualifier on March 21.
Five days later, world No. 132 Malaysia will entertain Oman at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
However, the possible absence of JDT players will give Pan Gon a chance to test others in his 33-member squad.
Pan Gon thanked the M-League clubs for releasing their players ahead of the Fifa window on March 18.
"Two-thirds of the squad have reported for centralised. We will do our best with the available players before the others report.
"We will use the Nepal friendly to develop a game plan, incorporating fitness and tactics," said Pan Gon.
However, Pan Gon is not too worried as the core of the team played in the Asian Cup in Doha.
Among the Under-23 players in Pan Gon's squad include Harith Haiqal Adam Afkar, Mukhairi Ajmal Mahadi, Nooa Laine, Zikri Khalili, V. Ruventhiran, Aliff Izwan Yuslan, Azam Azmi Murad, Safwan Mazlan, Haqimi Azim Rosli, Sikh Izhan Nazrel Sikh Azman and T. Saravanan.
In the World Cup qualifiers, Malaysia have six points following victories over Kyrgyzstan (4-3) and Taiwan (1-0).
Pan Gon estimates that Malaysia must earn at least 12 points to reach the next stage of the World Cup qualifiers and automatically advance to the 2027 Asian Cup.