National Team - Lions ● May 31, 2021
Hariss Harun withdraws from Singapore squad for World Cup qualifiers in June
Hariss Harun during Singapore’s match against Yemen in FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ qualifying, 5 September 2019
SINGAPORE, 31 MAY 2021 – Hariss Harun will not be involved with the Singapore Men’s National Team for their forthcoming FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ and Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup China 2023™ qualifiers.
The Lions captain, 30, will remain in Singapore due to personal family reasons and consequently, will not join the squad in Riyadh for the upcoming Preliminary Joint Qualification Round 2 matches.
Coach Tatsuma Yoshida said: “Of course it is always a big loss for any team when you don’t have your captain available. Since my tenure started, Hariss has always served the team well as our leader. But sometimes, we need to recognise that football may not always be the most important and the boys and I hope that his situation at home will get better. We have to accept that he will be unavailable and focus on the job that we have to do. I will have to alter some plans, but we will still follow our concepts and playing philosophies to always play the ball forward and play for victory. Considering the display against Afghanistan two days ago, I fully trust the players who are here and it is an opportunity for them to show what they are capable of.”
Hariss added: “I am of course, very disappointed to not be able to join the team in Riyadh and it is unfortunate, especially since I was looking forward to teaming up with the boys for these crucial matches. Nevertheless, I have great confidence and belief in the boys to put up good performances and come back with positive results. There are plenty of leaders in this team and I will be supporting them fervently from home.”
The Lions’ three remaining Group D matches will be held in the centralised venue of Saudi Arabia. These will be against Palestine (3 June), Uzbekistan (7 June) and Saudi Arabia (11 June).
All three matches will be broadcast LIVE on Mediacorp’s Channel 5 and meWATCH platforms.
National Team Fixtures for June 2021
| Date | Time | Match | Venue |
| 3 June 2021 Thursday |
9pm (2am SGT, 4 June, Friday) |
2022 World Cup Qualifier: Palestine vs Singapore |
King Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia |
| 7 June 2021 Monday |
9pm (2am SGT, 8 June, Tuesday) |
2022 World Cup Qualifier: Uzbekistan vs Singapore |
Mrsool Park Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia |
| 11 June 2021 Friday |
9pm (2am SGT, 12 June, Saturday) |
2022 World Cup Qualifier: Singapore vs Saudi Arabia |
King Saud University Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia |
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