Former England goalkeeper David James was impressed by Arif Aiman Hanapi's performance in Johor Darul Ta'zim's (JDT) Malaysian FA Cup Final victory.

James, who was in Malaysia for Astro's Premier League studio coverage before matches were postponed due to Queen Elizabeth II's death, attended Saturday's final at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium and watched the Southern Tigers beat Terengganu 3-1.

As the scorer of JDT's first goal of the night, 20-year-old Arif naturally caught the attention of the former Liverpool and Manchester City man.

"There wasn't a massive amount of shots on target with a lot of breakdowns in play [and] the pitch wasn't at its best because of an earlier rainstorm, so [the opening goal] would decide the way the game would go," James told Bola Itu Life hosts Keeshaanan Sundaresan and Faiz Khuzairi.

"When the moment came [...] he stepped up and scored. The finishing was wonderful.

"[Arif's] skill level was top draw, recognising the opportunity and creating the space, and as far as the goalkeeper was concerned, [there was nothing that could be done to stop the goal].

James also explained why he chose to support Terengganu, in which a photo of him in the black and white jersey went viral.

"When I was walking around Kuala Lumpur in the daytime, I saw Terengganu's sign on the side of a van, and on the way to the stadium, I saw [another one] and it felt like a sign to me [to support them].

"I managed to purchase their shirt [and a JDT shirt] by the stadium and since I was sitting in the Terengganu area, I decided to go all-in. I also don't go for favourites, I actually prefer [to support] underdogs.

"But as the game started, [JDT] looked like the better team and there were a lot of pressure from JDT. I was sitting there thinking [about switching my support] but I was loyal [to the end]," he said.