SINGAPORE, 23 NOVEMBER 2018 – We profile the Singapore National Team players who are representing the nation at the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Suzuki Cup 2018. Having done the goalkeepers and defenders, we present the midfielders and attackers…

Hariss Harun
Date of birth: 19 November 1990
Club: Johor Darul Ta’zim (Malaysia)
Caps/goals: 89/9

Hariss is the youngest ever debutant for Singapore, having come on as a substitute against North Korea in 2007 aged 16 years and 217 days. Injury prevented him from featuring in the 2008 and 2010 AFF Championships; this is the first time he is captaining a Singapore side at one. He scored twice in the 2014 edition on home soil and got his third tournament goal with the match-winner on match-day one against Indonesia.

 

Adam Swandi
Date of birth: 12 January 1996
Club: Albirex Niigata (S)
Caps/goals: 8/0

Adam rose to prominence in 2011 with stellar performances in the Lion City Cup and the AFF Under-16 Championship. The talented attacker had a stint at French side FC Metz off the back of those showings and made his Lions debut in 2013 at the age of 17 years and 143 days. Having won the 2018 Singapore Premier League Young Player of the Year, the creative playmaker will be looking to make a name for himself in his first AFF Championship and got his debut in the 1-0 win against Indonesia as a substitute.

 

Izzdin Shafiq
Date of birth: 14 December 1990
Club: Home United
Caps/goals: 36/0

Izzdin made only one AFF Championship appearance before this tournament but has completed all three matches at this edition. The creative midfielder was the captain of the Home United squad that made history by becoming the first Singaporean Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup ASEAN Zonal champions in 2018.

 

M. Anumanthan
Date of birth: 14 July 1994
Club: Home United
Caps/goals: 17/0

The 2016 Young Player of the Year made his Lions debut in 2013. “Anu”, a combative midfielder, played in all of Singapore’s games in the 2016 AFF Championship. He was also part of the Home United squad that were crowned AFC Cup ASEAN Zonal champions this year.

 

Jacob Mahler
Date of birth: 10 April 2000
Club: Young Lions
Caps/goals: 3/1

The youngest player in the squad, Jacob only made his professional debut this year and has enjoyed a meteoric rise. At 18 years and 213 days, he is also the second-youngest ever player to be named in a Singapore squad for an AFF Championship. He scored his first professional goal in only his second international appearance in a friendly match against Cambodia on 16 October 2018 and made his tournament debut as a substitute in the 1-0 defeat to the Philippines on match-day two.

Gabriel Quak
Date of birth: 22 December 1990
Club: Navy (Thailand)
Caps/goals: 26/3

Gabriel made three AFF Championship appearances for Singapore in the 2014 and 2016 editions and earned his first tournament start in the first match against Indonesia. He went on to start the next two games. The skillful winger became the first Singaporean to score in the Thai League 1 when he netted in a league victory over Sukhothai FC in March 2018.

 

Yasir Hanapi
Date of birth: 21 June 1989
Club: Tampines Rovers
Caps/goals: 28/1

Yasir scored his first international goal against Cambodia in a friendly during the lead up to the 2016 AFF Championship and featured in all three matches of that tournament. He chalked up nine assists in the SPL this year and is capable of playing both wide right and centrally.

 

Khairul Amri
Date of birth: 14 March 1985
Club: Tampines Rovers
Caps/goals: 128/32

This will be Amri’s seventh AFF Championship and he has netted in every final he has played in, with the Lions winning each edition in 2004, 2007 and 2012. Whether as a starter or as an impact-substitute, you will not put it past Amri to add to his 10 AFF Championship goals. He has featured in all three matches so far and is one goal away from becoming joint-second top scorer for Singapore in the tournament alongside Shahril Ishak.

 

Faris Ramli
Date of birth: 24 August 1992
Club: PKNS (Malaysia)
Caps/goals: 46/6

Faris, who made his international debut in 2014, featured in all of Singapore’s games at the 2014 and 2016 AFF Championships. At this edition, he started the first two games and was forced off by injury in the second but returned in time to make a goal-scoring appearance off the bench against Timor-Leste. By scoring the Lions’ fifth goal, he became the 30th different player to score for Singapore in the tournament’s history. The fleet-footed attacker can play anywhere in attack and is known for his dazzling skill and trickery.

Ikhsan Fandi
Date of birth: 9 April 1999
Club: Young Lions
Caps/goals: 11/6

The second son of Head Coach Fandi Ahmad has scored three goals in his last four international appearances heading into this edition and is emerging as a modern number nine. In a SPL match in 2018, history was made when both him and his brother, Irfan, scored in the same match, while father Fandi was Coach. In the last match against the Timorese, Ikhsan again wrote himself into history when he scored Singapore’s 100th goal in the tournament, 22 years after his father scored the first. His stunning bicycle kick, the second of his brace, will live long in the memory.

 

Shahril Ishak
Date of birth: 23 January 1984
Club: Home United
Caps/goals: 138/14

The stalwart made his Lions debut 15 years ago and is currently the second-most capped Singapore player of all time, behind Daniel Bennett. Shahril has been in all of the Singapore’s AFF Championship squads since 2004, scoring six goals in 31 appearances. He made his first appearance of this tournament against the Philippines, coming on as a substitute to earn his 138th cap but was unfortunately forced off minutes later with a dislocated shoulder. Only Daniel Bennett, with 34, has more tournament appearances than Shahril. Outside of football, he owns a clothing brand, inloveXtns, with his wife.

 

Iqbal Hussain
Date of birth: 6 June 1993
Club: Hougang United
Caps/goals: 6/0

Iqbal made his Lions debut against Papua New Guinea in September 2014. The mercurial forward missed out on the 2015 SEA Games and the previous two editions of the AFF Championships and will be eager to prove his worth in his tournament debut. He came on as a late substitute in the 6-1 rout of Timor-Leste.