Muhammad Danial: USM's National Team Winger Is Making the Step Up Count

USM's 2026 MPFL campaign has been one of steady development punctuated by a breakthrough result, their 8-0 win over Wipers in circuit four, the club's first clean sheet of the season and their first three points under coach Mohd Yuzmuhaimizee Bin Yaacob.

At the heart of that performance, and increasingly central to USM's attacking intent throughout the season, is Muhammad Danial.

The winger's inclusion in the Malaysia final 14-man squad for the 2026 ASEAN Futsal Championship in Thailand, alongside his USM teammate Amirul Syahmi, confirmed what his club performances had been building toward.

Two USM players making the national cut from a side still finding its footing in the top flight is a measure of the talent Yuzmuhaimizee has assembled, and Danial is the more prominent of the pair in the 2026 match data.

His season's goals have arrived at pivotal moments. A contribution in the 4-5 defeat to Terengganu in circuit one underlined his threat even in a losing cause, and the 8-0 demolition of Wipers in circuit four brought his most complete individual display, two goals in the 19th and 26th minutes as USM finally recorded the convincing win their performances had threatened. That result ended Wipers' hopes of a first point of the season and gave USM the platform to push for further improvement in the remaining circuits.

Danial had previously been on the scoresheet for USMKK FC in the 2025 MPFL Division 2 season, confirming that his progression into the top flight and the national squad has been built on consistent club form rather than a single outstanding campaign.

USM sit towards the foot of the table with one win and one draw from seven matches, but the presence of two players in the ASEAN Championship squad suggests the club's ceiling is higher than their current standing implies. For Muhammad Danial, the ambition is clear, and the national team recognition confirms he has the quality to back it up.