Football: Singapore coach Nishigaya issues challenge to Lions after naming provisional AFF C’ship squad

Coach Takayuki Nishigaya wants his players to show what they can offer before he trims his squad for the AFF Championship. PHOTO: AFP

SINGAPORE – National football coach Takayuki Nishigaya has thrown down the gauntlet to the Lions after naming a provisional 29-man squad for the Asean Football Federation (AFF) Championship on Thursday.

The Japanese tactician wants his players to “show what they can offer” before he decides on a final 23-man list for the Dec 20-Jan 16 tournament, where Singapore have been drawn in Group B with Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam and Malaysia.

The Lions will have a training camp in Chiba, Japan, from Dec 1-12, when they will play two training games.

This will be followed by a friendly against Maldives at Jalan Besar Stadium on Dec 17, a week before Singapore’s opening AFF Championship match against Myanmar, which will likely be played at the same venue.

Nishigaya has made a few additions while largely sticking to the same squad which he called up for September’s friendlies in Ho Chi Minh City, where they lost 4-0 to Vietnam and drew 1-1 with India.

The Fandi brothers – Irfan, Ikhsan and Ilhan – are in the squad, while centre-back Shakir Hamzah returns to the national fold for the first time since suffering a tournament-ending knee injury at the AFF Championship in 2021.

Nishigaya said the training camp in Japan and the Maldives friendly will be key to his team’s preparation as they will also face opponents with similar playing styles to South-east Asian sides.

The match against world No. 154 Maldives will be Nishigaya’s first home game, and seventh overall, since he took charge in May. His record reads one win, one draw and four losses.

World No. 160 Singapore’s last home match was a 2-0 win over the Philippines in a friendly at the National Stadium in March, under interim coach Nazri Nasir.

Nishigaya said: “I have called up these players for the provisional squad based on their performances at club level as well as the positional needs of the team, with certain players able to play in multiple positions where required – which I believe is necessary for our style of play.  

“During this period, I want the players to show what they can offer to the team. The (AFF Championship) holds special significance in Singapore football and I want to see desire and determination from the players because we need to stick together and play as one for the country.”

After the Christmas Eve opener against Myanmar, the Lions will face Laos (away, Dec 27), Vietnam (home, Dec 30) and Malaysia (Jan 3, away).

National captain Hariss Harun, who had a disappointing domestic season with the Lion City Sailors, is looking forward to ending the year on a high note with the Lions.

The Sailors finished second in the Singapore Premier League to Albirex Niigata and were knocked out of the Singapore Cup in the group stage.

Urging his 10 club mates in the Lions squad to “put the lessons behind” them, the 31-year-old called for them to “do their best for the national team to achieve some success together”.

Four-time champions Singapore’s last triumph came 10 years ago.

In 2021, when the tournament was held in Singapore, the Lions reached the semi-finals for the first time since 2012 and lost the two-legged tie 5-3 on aggregate to Indonesia.

Thailand went on to beat the Indonesians to clinch their sixth title.

Hariss added: “We know what we want as a team but we’re not going to set lofty targets because we have to be respectful of the teams in our group.

“But we will still be competitive, give our best and go as far as we can as a team.”

Squad

Goalkeepers: Hassan Sunny, Syazwan Buhari, Zaiful Nizam, Zharfan Rohaizad

Defenders: Amirul Adli, Christopher van Huizen, Hariss Harun, Irfan Fandi, Joshua Pereira, Nazrul Nazari, Nur Adam Abdullah, Ryaan Sanizal, Ryhan Stewart, Shakir Hamzah

Midfielders: Adam Swandi, Farhan Zulkifli, Hafiz Nor, Hami Syahin, M. Anumanthan, Shahdan Sulaiman, Shah Shahiran, Song Uiyoung, Zulfahmi Arifin

Forwards: Faris Ramli, Hazzuwan Halim, Ikhsan Fandi, Ilhan Fandi, Shawal Anuar, Taufik Suparno

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