Young Lions Head Coach Aide Iskandar and his team on Wednesday (May 27) unveiled its 20-member football squad for the upcoming 28th SEA Games in Singapore.
“Congratulations to the players who have made the final 20,” he said. “However, they are aware that this is just the beginning of the final lap of their SEA Games journey, and that they have to remain focused and disciplined.”
Goalkeepers: Syazwan Buhari (CYL), Rudy Khairullah (CYL)
Defenders: Shakir Hamzah (CYL), Al-Qaasimy Rahman (CYL), Sheikh Abdul Hadi (CYL), Fadli Kamis (CYL), Amirul Adli (CYL), Ho Wai Loon (BK)
Midfielders: Faris Ramli (LNS), Safirul Sulaiman (CYL), Stanely Ng (HU), Anumanthan Mohan Kumar (CYL), Adam Swandi (CYL), Suria Prakash (CYL), Pravin Guanasagaran (CYL)
Forwards: Shahfiq Ghani (CYL), Sahil Suhaimi (LNS), Shamil Sharif (CYL), Irfan Fandi (CYL), Amy Recha Pristifana (CYL)
In the recent 2015 Malaysia FA Cup final, LionsXII players Faris Ramli and Sahil Suhaimi both slotted the ball into the net, contributing to Singapore’s first historic win in the competition.
The Young Lions squad was formed after an assessment of all 29 shortlisted players’ performances during the final phase of preparations, which included a centralised training stint at the Singapore Sports School, a week-long training tour of Japan, and the two friendly internationals against Laos Under-23 and Timor Leste U-23.
The nine players who did not make the cut are goalkeeper Fashah Iskandar, defenders Taufiq Muqminin, Zakir Samsudin and Nurullah Hussein, midfielders Shameer Aziq, Muhaimin Suhaimi, Christopher Van Huizen and Afiq Noor, and striker Iqbal Hussain.
In a news release from the Football Association of Singapore, Aide said it was tough deciding who to exclude from the squad.
“It was a very close call for the nine players who were dropped because competition for their positions was very tight,” he said.
Aide also thanked all of the players for the hard work, effort and commitment they had put into training.
“As a former player, I know how disappointing the news can be. I want to reassure them that it does not mean that their playing careers are over just because they did not make it to the SEA Games squad,” the former national skipper and defender added.
“They are still young, and have long playing careers ahead of them. In fact, some are still eligible for the next one or two editions of the SEA Games. All these players are also still part of the Young Lions family. We have invited them and their families to watch all our matches, and to cheer on their teammates.”
The Young Lions are grouped with the Philippines, Myanmar, Indonesia and Cambodia in the SEA Games. They will face the Philippines in their first match on Jun 1 at the Jalan Besar Stadium.
“We had a good final preparation phase which really helped to raise the fitness levels of the players, and the boys are now working hard to reach their peak. The team spirit is very good and the players are focused and raring to go for their opening group match against the Philippines,” said Aide.
Source: www.channelnewsasia.com
