23 players in final Lions squad for Group B campaign starting 24 December

 

Singapore line-up vs Maldives, 17 December 2022

 

SINGAPORE, 20 DECEMBER 2022 – Singapore Men’s National Team Head Coach Takayuki Nishigaya today named a final squad of 23 players for the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Mitsubishi Electric ME Cup 2022.

 

The Lions, captained by Hariss Harun, will begin their Group B campaign at home against Myanmar on 24 December 2022, before going on to face Laos, Vietnam and Malaysia over the subsequent 10 days.

 

Five players will be part of a Singapore squad at Southeast Asia’s flagship international tournament for the first time – defenders Christopher van Huizen, Joshua Pereira and Ryhan Stewart, and midfielders Shah Shahiran and Farhan Zulkifli. Ikhsan Fandi and Adam Swandi are ruled out through injury, while Taufik Suparno has withdrawn due to family reasons. Goalkeeper Hassan Sunny is set to be involved for a record ninth time at an AFF Championship with the Lions, surpassing Shahril Ishak and Baihakki Khaizan (both eight).

 

The squad had commenced a final phase of preparations from 1 December with a 12-day training camp in Chiba, Japan. There, the Lions played three training matches – one against J3 League side YSCC Yokohama and two against Ryutsu Keizai University. The final warm-up match was an international friendly against the Maldives last Saturday (17 December), which was won 3-1.

 

Nishigaya said: “It is important that all the players have tremendous commitment and desire to play for the Lions and having observed the players since selecting the provisional squad, I have full confidence in this final squad to overcome any challenges as one. It was not easy to make the selection choices but I believe that we have improved over the past few months and will continue to do so in the tournament.

 

“We want to go as far as possible, but it is key that we first concentrate on taking things game by game. Of course, it is disappointing that Ikhsan, Adam and Taufik are not available and I want to demand that the team continues to stick together, and play for them as well.

 

“Everyone understands that the first game against Myanmar is important for us to set the tone and especially at home, we want to show what we can do in front of the fans – I want us to play together with the fans, and win together.”

 

 

Hariss added: “The final preparations over the past few weeks have gone well and we are looking forward to applying everything we have learned from the training camp and Maldives friendly to the tournament.

 

“Our team spirit has always been our strongest asset and to go far in the tournament, we have to be very focused and believe in ourselves, as well as each other. There are some young but talented players in this team and while the seniors will guide them, at the end of the day everyone has to do their part because we are playing for Singapore – we have a duty to give our all for the country.

 

“It is great to start our campaign at home. At Jalan Besar, the fans are close to the pitch and the atmosphere is terrific, which we have to utilise to our full advantage. As four-time champions, we have a history in the tournament and winning is a challenge we have to take up.”

 

Singapore are gunning for a fifth regional crown and will kick off their quest at 6pm against Myanmar this Saturday at the Jalan Besar Stadium. Nishigaya’s charges then travel to Vientiane to face Laos on 27 December, before returning home to take on Vietnam on 30 December. The group stage will conclude with an away derby clash against Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur on 3 January.

 

Tickets for the Myanmar encounter at Jalan Besar Stadium remain available for purchase at fas-live.tth.asia/tickets; the home match against Vietnam has been sold out.

 

Singapore Men’s National Team Squad for AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2022

S/N	Name	Pos	Caps	Goals	DOB	Club
1	Hassan Sunny	GK	100	0	2-Apr-84	Lion City Sailors
2	Syazwan Buhari	GK	0	0	22-Sep-92	Tampines Rovers
3	Zaiful Nizam	GK	4	0	24-Jul-87	Geylang International
4	Amirul Adli	DF	21	0	13-Jan-96	Lion City Sailors
5	Christopher Van Huizen	DF	9	0	28-Nov-92	Tampines Rovers
6	Hariss Harun	DF	116	11	19-Nov-90	Lion City Sailors
7	Irfan Fandi	DF	43	1	13-Aug-97	BG Pathum United (THA)
8	Joshua Pereira	DF	2	0	10-Oct-97	Geylang International
9	Nazrul Nazari	DF	56	0	11-Feb-91	Hougang United
10	Ryhan Stewart	DF	4	0	15-Feb-00	Chiangmai FC (THA)
11	Shakir Hamzah	DF	59	4	20-Oct-92	Tanjong Pagar United
12	Farhan Zulkifli	MF	0	0	10-Nov-02	Hougang United
13	Hafiz Nor	MF	17	2	22-Aug-88	Lion City Sailors
14	Hami Syahin	MF	12	0	16-Dec-98	Lion City Sailors
15	M. Anumanthan	MF	27	0	14-Jul-94	Lion City Sailors
16	Shahdan Sulaiman	MF	81	6	9-May-88	Lion City Sailors
17	Shah Shahiran	MF	8	0	14-Nov-99	Young Lions
18	Song Uiyoung	MF	13	3	8-Nov-93	Lion City Sailors
19	Zulfahmi Arifin	MF	54	1	5-Oct-91	Hougang United
20	Amy Recha	FW	8	0	13-May-92	Hougang United
21	Faris Ramli	FW	69	10	24-Aug-92	Lion City Sailors
22	Ilhan Fandi	FW	5	1	8-Nov-02	Albirex Niigata (S)
23	Shawal Anuar	FW	21	4	29-Apr-91	Hougang United

 

Singapore’s AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2022 Group B fixtures

Date and time	Match	Venue
24 December 2022, Saturday, 6pm	Singapore vs Myanmar	Jalan Besar Stadium
27 December 2022, Tuesday, 6pm	Laos vs Singapore	New Laos National Stadium, Vientiane
30 December 2022, Friday, 8.30pm	Singapore vs Vietnam	Jalan Besar Stadium
3 January 2023, Tuesday, 8.30pm	Malaysia vs Singapore	Bukit Jalil National Stadium, Kuala Lumpur

 

 

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