Football: Sharpshooter Syafiq out to show he’s worthy of a spot in national squad

PETALING JAYA: Kedah striker Syafiq Ahmad has kicked off the season with the fastest goal in the Super League and he wants another quick fix – a place in the national team again.

On Saturday, the 28-year-old scored in 33 seconds, which was the only goal in Kedah’s 1-0 win against Police at the Selayang Stadium.

He was playing alongside Milos Gordic up front, made a smart run to beat the offside trap and received a perfect cross from captain and winger Sony Norde, before thumping it past Police goalkeeper Bryan See.

It was the fastest so far this season.

Penang’s centre-back Rafael Vitor scored the fastest goal ever when he needed just nine seconds to get on the scoresheet against Perak in 2021.

Syafiq said his team went on a fast attack to punish Police, who were known for their organised display last season.

“We worked hard from the beginning to get a good start. It wasn’t just me but my teammates played their part. I was just at the receiving end of a good play,” said Syafiq, who is on-loan from Johor Darul Ta’zim.

Syafiq complemented well with the other attackers like Gordic, Norde and Uzbekistani winger Sukhrob Nurullaev.

“This is the best possible start for us, so we are hopeful that we can maintain this momentum throughout this season.”

Syafiq hopes that regular turnouts during the season with Kedah will lead him to the national team again.

“The aim for me is to feature more and get a chance to play for Malaysia again.

“We have important qualifiers (World Cup 2026 second-round qualifiers) coming up. I have played for Malaysia before, so I know how important those fixtures are.”

Kedah will next take on reigning league runners-up Selangor at the Petaling Jaya Stadium on May 18.

“I would not say we are worried about taking them on but we have the momentum. We just want to play our game, we are ready to face anyone,” said Syafiq.

“I would not think much about our opponents, we just work on ourselves.”

Despite the win against Police, Kedah remained with no points in the league as they carry a three-point deduction due to the salary arrears for 2023.