Nazhan Zulkifle

In this Malay name, there is no surname or family name. The name Zulkifle is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by their given name, Muhammad Nazhan. The word "bin" or "binti"/"binte" means 'son of' or 'daughter of', respectively.
Nazhan
Nazhan with Brunei in 2023
Personal information
Full name Muhammad Nazhan bin Zulkifle
Date of birth (2001-01-17) 17 January 2001 (age 23)
Place of birth Brunei
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
 Kasuka
Number 23
Youth career
2016–2018 Tabuan Muda
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017 Tabuan Muda 'B'
2018– Kasuka (2)
International career‡
2016 Brunei U16 4 (0)
2017–2019 Brunei U19 20 (0)
2018 Brunei U21 0 (0)
2022 Brunei U23 7 (0)
2020– Brunei 4 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 10 August 2022
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 20 October 2023

Muhammad Nazhan bin Zulkifle (born 17 January 2001) is a Bruneian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Brunei Super League club Kasuka and the Brunei national team.[1]

Club career

Since 2016, Nazhan has been a regular of his age group in Tabuan Muda, the national youth scheme formed by the National Football Association of Brunei Darussalam in preparation for international tournaments.[2] He played league football for the 'B' team of Tabuan Muda in the 2017 Brunei Premier League.[3]

Nazhan signed for Kasuka FC in the 2018–19 Brunei Super League as one of several established Brunei youth internationals snapped up by the ambitious club. He scored his first league goal on his debut in a 11–0 victory against Setia Perdana on 28 October 2018.[4] He also captained Kasuka's Under-19 team that played in the national youth league.[5] The team reached second place that season and was awarded an AFC Cup berth for the 2021 edition after securing an AFC club license,[6] but their qualifying matches were ultimately cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[7]

On 4 December 2022, Nazhan reached the final of the 2022 Brunei FA Cup with Kasuka, where they lost to DPMM FC by 2–1 in regular time.[8] The next year saw Nazhan's team dominating the league and finishing in first place, handing Nazhan his first taste of silverware.[9]

International career

National youth teams

Nazhan's first international tournament in Brunei colours was the 2016 AFF U-16 Youth Championship held in Cambodia in July, where he played in all four fixtures, three from the start.[10] Brunei lost all of their matches without scoring a goal, although they managed to keep the scoreline respectable with no more than four goals conceded per match.[11] Then in late 2017, Nazhan was selected for both the 2017 AFF U-18 Youth Championship hosted by Myanmar in September and the 2018 AFC U-19 Championship qualification matches held in South Korea the following November.[12] In the first match for the AFF tournament, Nazhan was a late defensive substitute for a 2–3 victory against the Philippines.[13][14] He was brought on in different circumstances in the second game, which was a 1–8 defeat against Vietnam.[15][16] He was given a start in the third game against Myanmar but was taken off early in the second half, and that ended his involvement for the rest of the tournament after said 7–0 loss.[17] Two months later in Paju, South Korea, Nazhan played in all four matches of the group stage of the AFC qualifying tournament, two from the start including a 0–11 defeat to the host country.[18] He was a second-half substitute in the final game which was a 2–2 draw against Timor-Leste.[19]

Nazhan was a squad member for the April 2018 Hassanal Bolkiah Trophy with the under-21s but did not take the field.[20] He was back with the under-19s for the 2018 AFF U-19 Youth Championship a few months later in Indonesia, playing in all of the matches as Brunei ended the tournament without a single point.

Nazhan was named as a member of the Brunei Under-23s playing in the 2022 AFF U-23 Championship held in Cambodia in February. He started the first game which was a 6–0 defeat at the hands of the host team, it was to be the extent of his involvement for the rest of the tournament.[21][22] A year later, Nazhan captained the side for the 2023 edition of the tournament in August,[23] however he made just one start against Thailand, where the valiant Young Wasps lost by only three goals to nil.[24] In the game, he was struck in the face by Nethithorn Kaewcharoen who attempted a bicycle kick while Nazhan connected to the ball first right before half-time.[25] He kept the armband for the 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualification matches held in Jordan the following month, and played three times, suffering three defeats.[26]

Full national team

After having been invited to training camps in 2020,[27] Nazhan received a callup for the full national team in March 2022 for the international friendly against Laos away in Vientiane.[1] He was a substitute in the fixture, replacing Abdul Azizi Ali Rahman for his international debut.[28] The match ended 3–2 to the home team.[29] Six months later, he faced the same opposition at home in a tri-nations tournament on 27 September. This time around, the Wasps produced a 1–0 victory.[30]

Nazhan was recalled to the full national team at the two-legged 2026 World Cup qualification matches against Indonesia in October 2023.[31] He played from the start at right-back in the first leg away at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta on 12 October where trailing by 2–0 Nazhan fouled the marauding Sandy Walsh at the edge of the penalty box. Ramadhan Sananta scored the ensuing penalty and in the end, Indonesia won by six unanswered goals.[32] Nazhan similarly started the game five days later at the return leg in Bandar Seri Begawan, which finished by the same scoreline to Indonesia, knocking Brunei out of the global competition in a 0–12 aggregate.[33]

Honours

Kasuka FC

Personal life

Nazhan is attending the Laksamana College of Business in Bandar Seri Begawan, and won a national inter-college tournament in 2021 as their representative.[34]

References

  1. ^ a b "FABD announces Brunei squad for Laos friendly". Borneo Bulletin. 24 March 2022. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
  2. ^ "NATIONAL YOUTH UNDER-15". National Football Association of Brunei Darussalam. Archived from the original on 13 May 2018. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
  3. ^ "TUNAS FC FIGHT BACK TO DRAW AGAINST TABUAN MUDA B". BruSports News. 15 May 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
  4. ^ "Setia Perdana suffer 11-0 defeat to Kasuka". Borneo Bulletin. 29 October 2018. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
  5. ^ "Kasuka FC storm to 19-0 victory against IKLS". Borneo Bulletin. 22 September 2019. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
  6. ^ "Kasuka FC chosen to represent Brunei in AFC Cup". Borneo Bulletin. 17 January 2021. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
  7. ^ "AFC CUP ASEAN ZONE GAMES CANCELLED". BruSports News. 7 July 2021. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
  8. ^ "DPMM FC sink Kasuka FC to win Brunei FA Cup". Borneo Bulletin. 5 December 2022. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  9. ^ "18/11/2023 Brunei Super League". Radio Television Brunei. 18 November 2023. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
  10. ^ "Brunei set for AFF under-16 tourney". The Brunei Times. 9 July 2016. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
  11. ^ "Brunei end AFF U-16 Championship campaign with 4-0 defeat to Laos". The Brunei Times. 9 July 2016. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
  12. ^ "AFF U18 Championship 2017 Yangon, Myanmar 4-17 September 2017 Brunei Darussalam Team" (PDF). ASEAN Football Federation. 3 August 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
  13. ^ "ASEAN Football Federation U18 Group B Match Summary: Philippines U18 2-3 Brunei DS U18" (PDF). ASEAN Football Federation. 6 September 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
  14. ^ "U18: WADUD'S HEADER GIVES BRUNEI OPENING WIN". ASEAN Football Federation. 5 September 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
  15. ^ "ASEAN Football Federation U18 Group B Match Summary: Brunei DS U18 1-8 Vietnam U18" (PDF). ASEAN Football Federation. 8 September 2018. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
  16. ^ "U18: BIG WIN FOR VIETNAM IN OPENER". ASEAN Football Federation. 7 September 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
  17. ^ "ASEAN Football Federation U18 Group B Match Summary: Myanmar U18 7-0 Brunei DS U18" (PDF). ASEAN Football Federation. 10 September 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
  18. ^ "AFC U-19 CHAMPIONSHIP 2018 Qualifiers: BRUNEI DARUSSALAM 0-11 KOREA REPUBLIC". Asian Football Confederation. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
  19. ^ "Brunei ends AFC U-19 run on a positive". Borneo Bulletin. 10 November 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
  20. ^ "BRU - 2018 Hassanal Bolkiah Trophy". Information Department, Prime Minister's Office of Brunei. Archived from the original on 20 June 2019. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
  21. ^ "Brunei under-23s fall 6-0". Borneo Bulletin. 15 February 2022. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
  22. ^ "ASEAN Football Federation AFF U23 Championship 2022 - GAroup A Match Summary: Cambodia U23 6-0 Brunei DS U23" (PDF). ASEAN Football Federation. 14 February 2022. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
  23. ^ @fa.bruneidarussalam (11 August 2023). "The pre-match media conference ahead of friendly between Brunei Darussalam & Laos that will be taking place tomorrow at Lao National Stadium KM16, 16:00 PM". Retrieved 22 August 2023 – via Instagram.
  24. ^ "AFFU23: Thailand take control of Group A". ASEAN Football Federation. 19 August 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  25. ^ "Piala AFF U-23 2023: Momen Ngeri Pemain Thailand Sepak Muka Kapten Brunei Darussalam". Bolatimes. 20 August 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  26. ^ @fa.bruneidarussalam (6 September 2023). "Starting XI for U23 Brunei". Retrieved 7 September 2023 – via Instagram.
  27. ^ "Kasuka players return for club training after national call-up". Borneo Bulletin. 23 September 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
  28. ^ "Match Report of Laos vs Brunei Darussalam - 2022-03-27 - FIFA Friendlies". Data Sports Group. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
  29. ^ "Brunei lose 3-2 to Laos in international friendly". Borneo Bulletin. 28 March 2022. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
  30. ^ "Brunei beat Laos 1-0". Borneo Bulletin. 28 September 2022. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  31. ^ @fa.bruneidarussalam (9 October 2023). "Here's the 25 players that will be representing Brunei Darussalam in the World Cup Qualifiers". Retrieved 20 October 2023 – via Instagram.
  32. ^ "Hasil Kualifikasi Piala Dunia 2026, Timnas Indonesia vs Brunei Darussalam: Skor 6-0". Bola.net. 12 October 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  33. ^ "NO HOME COMFORT FOR WASPS". BruSports News. 18 October 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  34. ^ "LCB win football tourney". Borneo Bulletin. 4 August 2021. Retrieved 8 July 2022.