Experienced shot-stopper Zaiful Nizam to captain the team with 14 players set to make their tournament debuts

 

Khairin Nadim (left) and Jordan Emaviwe during a training session on 25 April 2022. 

 

SINGAPORE, 30 APRIL 2022 – Singapore Under-23 Men’s National Team Head Coach Nazri Nasir today named a final squad of 20 players for the upcoming Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Vietnam.

 

The team will travel to Nam Dinh on 4 May 2022 and begin their Group B campaign against Laos three days later with Thailand, Cambodia and Malaysia making up the rest of the opposition in the group. All of Singapore’s matches will be streamed live on Mediacorp’s meWATCH platform.

 

The final selection was trimmed from a provisional squad of 27 players that had been undergoing centralised training since 25 April 2022.

 

Geylang International goalkeeper Zaiful Nizam, Young Lions defender Syahrul Sazali and Hougang United midfielder Zulfahmi Arifin have been picked to fill the three overaged player slots allocated to each team. Syahrul was drafted into the final squad to provide cover in defence, given the injury sustained by captain Jacob Mahler that rules him out of the tournament. Mahler tore his anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus while representing the Young Lions in the AIA Singapore Premier League (SPL) on 20 April 2022 against Tampines Rover FC.

 

This will be the first SEA Games for Zaiful, as well as 13 U23 players including Zikos Chua, Ryaan Sanizal and Nur Adam Abdullah. Chua, with three goals in six games, along with Ryaan – called up to the senior National Team for the recent FAS Tri-Nations Series 2022 – will look to take their fine form in the SPL to Vietnam. Nur Adam’s experience in the Asian Football Confederation Champions League will also strengthen the team’s defence and attack on the left side.

 

The sibling duo of Irfan Fandi and Ikhsan Fandi will also miss out on the final squad as their parent club, BG Pathum United of Thailand, had confirmed their decision not to release the two players for this biennial Games that falls outside of the official FIFA window.

 

 

Head Coach Nazri said: “The final 20 players were selected because they fit well into our philosophy and have shown their versatility where they can play multiple positions. With the short window in between games, this is important should there be injuries or unforeseen circumstances such as Covid-19.

 

“Most importantly, all 20 players have shown maturity to deliver both on and off the pitch and I believe they will do Singapore proud with their performances and their conduct. I trust all of them and I believe the selected players will give their all and not let me down in Vietnam.

 

“We may be missing some key players like Jacob and Ikhsan unfortunately, but the team’s morale and belief remain intact, with a clear focus on the job at hand. I am extremely pleased with what I have seen during the SPL from the likes ok Jordan Emaviwe and Zikos, and I am confident they will rise up to the challenge against the Asean teams.”

 

Zaiful, who has been appointed captain of the team in place of the injured Mahler, added: “It is always an honour to don the national jersey at such a prestigious tournament and an even bigger honour to be chosen as the captain of the team. I am eager to use my experience to guide the younger players both on and off the pitch by setting an exemplary standard for the other players to follow. Team spirit is high and we cannot wait to take to the field in Vietnam.”

 

Singapore will be looking to emerge from the group stage for the first time since 2013. Their best performance were three runner-up finishes, in 1983, 1985 and 1989. More recently, the Republic won bronze medals at three of the four Games between 2007 and 2013.

 

Singapore Under-23 Men’s National Team Squad for SEA Games

S/N	Name	Pos	DOB	Club
1	Ridhwan Fikri	GK	29-Apr-99	Young Lions
2	Zaiful Nizam*	GK	24-Jul-87	Geylang International
3	Harith Kanadi	DF	01-Aug-00	Young Lions
4	Irfan Najeeb	DF	31-Jul-99	Tampines Rovers
5	Jordan Emaviwe	DF	09-Apr-01	Young Lions
6	Nur Adam Abdullah	DF	13-Apr-01	Lion City Sailors
7	Ryaan Sanizal	DF	31-May-02	Tampines Rovers
8	Ryhan Stewart	DF	15-Feb-00	Young Lions
9	Syahrul Sazali*	DF	03-Jun-98	Young Lions
10	Arshad Shamim	MF	09-Dec-99	Young Lions
11	Harhys Stewart	MF	20-Mar-01	Young Lions
12	Jared Gallagher	MF	18-Jan-02	Young Lions
13	Joel Chew	MF	09-Feb-00	Young Lions
14	Saifullah Akbar	MF	31-Jan-99	Lion City Sailors
15	Shah Shahiran	MF	14-Nov-99	Young Lions
16	Zulfahmi Arifin*	MF	05-Oct-91	Hougang United
17	Glenn Kweh	FW	26-Mar-00	Young Lions
18	Khairin Nadim	FW	08-May-04	Young Lions
19	Nicky Melvin Singh	FW	13-Jun-02	Albirex Niigata (S)
20	Zikos Chua	FW	15-Apr-02	Young Lions

 

*Overaged players

 

SEA Games Group B Fixtures

Date	Match	Time	Venue
7 May 2022, Saturday	Singapore vs Laos	5pm (SGT)	Thien Truong Stadium, Nam Dinh, Vietnam
9 May 2022, Monday	Thailand vs Singapore	8pm (SGT)
11 May 2022, Wednesday	Cambodia vs Singapore	5pm (SGT)
14 May 2022, Saturday	Singapore vs Malaysia	5pm (SGT)

 

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