Press Releases ● May 25, 2015
Lions To Play Two Friendlies, Squad Announced For Game Against Bangladesh
SINGAPORE, 25 May 2015: The Football Association of Singapore would like to announce that two friendly internationals have been lined up for the Singapore National ‘A’ Team as part of their preparations for their upcoming FIFA World Cup and AFC Asian Cup qualifiers in June.
The Lions will play an away friendly against Bangladesh at the Banghabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka on 30 May at 8pm (Singapore time).
On 6 June, they will take on Brunei at home. The venue for the match will be announced later. Likewise, ticket details for the Brunei game will also be released at a later date.
The squad for the Bangladesh game has also been confirmed.
National Coach Bernd Stange has selected 21 players, including 3 new faces in LionsXII midfielder Izzdin Shafiq, Home United midfielder Yasir Hanapi and Balestier Khalsa keeper Zaiful Nizam.
LionsXII Head Coach Fandi Ahmad and Tampines Rovers FC Head Coach V. Sundramoorthy have also been included in the coaching team for the upcoming friendlies and World Cup/Asian Cup qualifiers.
National Coach Stange said that the friendlies will be important for Singapore’s preparations for the World Cup qualifiers. He also explained why he gave call-ups to the three new faces.
“These two friendlies will be our final preparations for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers, and so it is important that we make full use of these opportunities,” he said.
“Half of the players in the squad are from the LionsXII because they are the best available in terms of physical preparations and in confidence after last Saturday’s FA Cup final.
“I chose Izzdin because I feel that he has made the most progress of all the players in Singapore in the past six months. His performance in the FA Cup final also indicates that he deserves his first cap soon.
“Zaiful has performed on the international level for Balestier Khalsa in the AFC Cup, and has proven that he is the best goalkeeper in the S.League today. Finally, Yasir Hanapi has shown enormous commitment in his performances for Home United and deserves his call-up.”
Drawn in Group E with Cambodia, Afghanistan Syria and Japan, the Lions will take on Cambodia in Phnom Penh in their first qualifying match on June 11. They will then travel to Japan for their second game on 16 June.
The full squad list is appended below:
| S/N | FULL NAME | POSITION | AGE | CLUB |
| 1 | HASSAN BIN ABDULLAH SUNNY | GK | 30 | ARMY UNITED FC |
| 2 | MOHAMAD IZWAN BIN MAHBUD | GK | 24 | LIONSXII |
| 3 | ZAIFUL NIZAM BIN ABDULLAH | GK | 29 | BALESTIER KHALSA FC |
| 4 | BAIHAKKI BIN KHAIZAN | DF | 31 | JOHOR DARUL TA’ZIM II |
| 5 | ISMADI BIN MUHAMAD MUKHTAR | DF | 32 | TAMPINES ROVERS FC |
| 6 | MADHU M MOHANA | DF | 24 | LIONSXII |
| 7 | MOHAMAD SHAIFUL BIN ESAH NAIN | DF | 29 | TAMPINES ROVERS FC |
| 8 | MUHAMMAD NAZRUL BIN AHMAD NAZARI | DF | 24 | LIONSXII |
| 9 | ZULFADLI BIN ZAINAL ABIDIN | DF | 24 | TAMPINES ROVERS FC |
| 10 | MUHAMMAD HAFIZ BIN ABU SUJAD | DF | 25 | LIONSXII |
| 11 | MUHAMMAD SAFUWAN BIN BAHARUDIN | DF | 24 | LIONSXII |
| 12 | MUHAMMAD YASIR BIN HANAPI | MF | 27 | HOME UNITED FC |
| 13 | GABRIEL QUAK JUN YI | MF | 24 | LIONSXII |
| 14 | MUHAMMAD IZZDIN BIN SHAFIQ YACOB | MF | 25 | LIONSXII |
| 15 | MUHAMMAD FIRDAUS BIN KASMAN | MF | 28 | LIONSXII |
| 16 | HARISS S/O HARUN | MF | 24 | JOHOR DARUL TA’ZIM I |
| 17 | MOHAMMAD ZULFAHMI BIN MOHD ARIFIN | MF | 24 | LIONSXII |
| 18 | FAZRUL NAWAZ S/O SHAHUL HAMEED | FW | 30 | WARRIORS FC |
| 19 | MOHAMMAD KHAIRUL AMRI BIN MOHAMMAD KAMAL | FW | 30 | LIONSXII |
| 20 | MOHAMMAD SHAHRIL BIN ISHAK | FW | 31 | JOHOR DARUL TA’ZIM II |
| 21 | MUHAMMAD KHAIRUL NIZAM BIN MOHAMMAD KAMAL | FW | 24 | LIONSXII |
Singapore’s Upcoming International Friendly Matches
| Date | Time | Match | Venue |
| 30 May 2015 Saturday | 8pm (SG time) | Bangladesh vs Singapore | Banghabandhu National Stadium (Dhaka, Bangladesh) |
| 6 June 2015
Saturday |
7.30pm | Singapore vs Brunei | TBA |
