Press Releases ● Apr 15, 2015
Singapore Drawn With Indonesia, Myanmar, Cambodia And The Philippines In SEA Games 2015 Football Group Stage
SINGAPORE, 15 APRIL 2015: Singapore will take on Indonesia, Myanmar, Cambodia and the Philippines in the group stages of the 28th South-east Asian Games’ football tournament, which will take place next month.
The Young Lions’ opponents were decided today at the official draw for the Under-23 tournament which was held at the Singapore Sports Hub. One of the two seeded teams of the competition because of its status as SEA Games hosts, the Republic opted to be in Group A which will feature five teams.
Defending champions Thailand, the other seeded side, were placed in Group B where they will face Malaysia, Vietnam, Laos, Brunei and Timor Leste.
Singapore were bronze medallists at the 2013 SEA Games, after losing 1-0 to Thailand in the semi-finals, and beating then-defending champions Malaysia 2-1 in the play-off for third place. Indonesia finished second after losing 0-1 to Thailand in the final.
Cambodia and Myanmar did not advance from the group stages two years ago while the Philippines did not participate in the football tournament then.
Young Lions Head Coach Aide Iskandar said he was happy with the draw but added that his team will not underestimate any of their opponents. “While Group B appears to be the tougher group, we must remember that there are no minnows in South-east Asian football these days,” he said.
“Many of our neighbours have made a lot of progress in recent years, and that is why we will not be underestimating any team.
“We want to start the tournament well as it will give us confidence for the following matches, so our main focus is on the first match. We want to get our campaign off to a good start, and build on that momentum. We are now in the next phase of our preparations. I have trimmed the squad down to 30 players, and we have begun intensifying our training.”
The football tournament will begin on 29 May, a week before the opening ceremony of the SEA Games (5-16 June). The top two teams in each group will progress to the semi-finals, which will be played on 13 June. The final will be held on 15 June. All three matches will be played at the National Stadium.
The fixture schedule for the group stages will be announced in due course. Tickets for the SEA Games 2015 football matches will go on sale at 10am on 6 May 2015, and will be available fromwww.seagames2015.com.
Under-23 National Team – 30-player Shortlist
S/N | NAME | POSITION | CLUB |
1 | Syazwan Buhari | GK | Courts Young Lions |
2 | Fashah Iskandar | GK | Courts Young Lions |
3 | Rudy Khairullah | GK | Courts Young Lions |
4 | Shakir Hamzah | DF | Courts Young Lions |
5 | Al-Qaasimy Rahman | DF | Courts Young Lions |
6 | Sheikh Abdul Hadi | DF | Courts Young Lions |
7 | Fadli Kamis | DF | Courts Young Lions |
8 | Amirul Adli | DF | Courts Young Lions |
9 | Irfan Fandi | DF | Courts Young Lions |
10 | Taufiq Muqminin | DF | Courts Young Lions |
11 | Zakir Samsudin | DF | LionsXII |
12 | Nurullah Hussein | DF | Balestier Khalsa |
13 | Ho Wai Loon | DF | Balestier Khalsa |
14 | Faris Ramli | MF | LionsXII |
15 | Safirul Sulaiman | MF | Courts Young Lions |
16 | Stanely Ng | MF | Home United |
17 | Anumanthan Mohan Kumar | MF | Courts Young Lions |
18 | Shamil Sharif | MF | Courts Young Lions |
19 | Adam Swandi | MF | Courts Young Lions |
20 | Muhaimin Suhaimi | MF | Home United |
21 | Shameer Aziq | MF | Courts Young Lions |
22 | Afiq Mat Noor | MF | Courts Young Lions |
23 | Christopher Van Huizen | MF | LionsXII |
24 | Suria Prakash | MF | Courts Young Lions |
25 | Pravin Guanasagaran | MF | Courts Young Lions |
26 | Shahfiq Ghani | FW | Courts Young Lions |
27 | Sahil Suhaimi | FW | LionsXII |
28 | Iqbal Hussain | FW | Courts Young Lions |
29 | Amy Recha Pristifana | FW | Courts Young Lions |
30 | Taufik Suparno | FW | Tampines Rovers |
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