When Syafiq limped off in the Preliminary Round 1 of the joint 2022 World Cup and 2023 Asian Cup first leg against Timor Leste, he was not expected to be part of the Malaysia squad that took on Indonesia in Thursday's opening Group G match, let alone being on the team sheet as a starter.
But such has been his strong showing in training and in the friendly against Jordan that forced Tan Cheng Hoe to drop Akram Mahinan and push Brendan Gan slightly back just to slot Syafiq into the team. Playing in the hole behind striker Norshahrul Idlan Talah, Syafiq has shown that he's a growing presence in that role.