Quite often in football, the midfield battle is the one that decides how the match will turn out. Win the fight and take control of the midfield, and half the match is already won. That will be the area that Malaysia will look to impose themselves on when they take to the field at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium on September 5.
Cheng Hoe used the Jordan match to assess the other options where Brendan Gan started the match alongside Danial Amier and Nor Azam Azih. Akram was not called upon in that match but he remains an important member of the coach's midfield and barring an injury, will be one of the first names on the team sheet on Thursday.