Better international friendlies will help lift Singapore football’s standards: Hariss
Having more quality friendly matches like Argentina will help to lift the national team and standard of Singapore football as a whole, said Singapore vice-captain Hariss Harun in the lead up to the first ever match between Singapore and Argentina.
During a press conference on Friday (2 June), Singapore announced the 27-man squad that will face Argentina in a friendly match at the National Stadium on 13 June with the Home United midfielder calling for more matches against top calibre opponents.
“For me it’s quite straightforward, the more quality opposition we play, the better it is for the national team,” said the 26-year-old.
“We might concede a few goals… we might play badly but it’s a learning experience for us,” said Hariss.
Organised to mark the 125th anniversary of the Football Association of Singapore, the international friendly is part of Argentina’s tour which takes them to Australia and Singapore. The two-time World Cup champions will face their South American rival Brazil in Melbourne on 9 June before facing the Lions four days later.
While the match against Singapore is just a friendly, it will also be the last fine-tuning friendly match before Argentina goes into full gear for their World Cup Qualifier match against Uruguay.
Many may expect a drubbing for the Lions against the superstar line-up of Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero and Gonzalo Higuain but national head coach V Sundramoorthy is more focused on having his charges come out of the game with their head held high.
“Firstly, we are mentally prepared to face a big team like Argentina and I believe that it’s a good exposure for us to see where we are playing with these guys, and to put ourselves around Messi and all the top guys,” said Sundramoorthy, adding that he believed his charges will be motivated.
“We are not thinking of the score line, we are thinking of how we can compete and keep ourselves coming out of it with our heads up, that’s important.”
Mental preparation important
Good mental preparation will be especially important for four players who might be getting their first caps for the national team, added the national coach. Led by 132-cap captain Shahril Ishak, the four new faces are Geylang International FC’s goalkeeper Syazwan Buhari, Warriors FC defender Ho Wai Loon and Young Lions’ duo Hami Syahin and Muhaimin Suhaimi.
The friendly against the world number two team will come after a friendly against Myanmar and an Asian Cup qualifier match against Chinese Taipei. With the three matches coming fast and furious in the next two weeks, Sundramoorthy said his players will be motivated for Argentina and added that the local weather might help give his team an edge.
“Obviously, it’s going to be a tough game, I mean you can see the players on the pitch, I remember in my playing days when we played against Manchester United, we played Bayern Munich,” said the 51-year-old coach.
“We lost to Man United but we beat Bayern 2-1 on the night at National Stadium… and I believe that it’s on the day and the weather plays an important part,” he added.
“After 45 minutes probably (Argentina) will be struggling and we can capitalise on it.”
Tickets for the match are currently on sale at Sports Hub Tix with ticket prices ranging from S$40 to S$188.
SINGAPORE TEAM LIST
GK Hassan Bin Abdullah Sunny
GK Mihamad Izwan Bin Mahbud
GK Syazwan Bin Buhari
GK Zaiful Nizam Bin Abdullah
DF Bennett Daniel Mark
DF Ho Wai Loon
DF Irfan Fandi Ahmad
DF Madhu M Mohana
DF Mohammed Faritz Bin Abdul Hameed
DF Muhammad Shakir Bin Hamzah
DF Mustafic Fahrudin
DF Nazrul Ahmad Nazari
DF Safirul Bin Sulaiman
MF Gabriel Quak Jun Yi
MF Hami Syahin Bin Said
MF Hariss S/O Harun
MF Mohammad Hafiz Bin Abu Sujad
MF Mohammad Shahril Bin Ishak
MF Mohammad Zulfahmi Bin Mohd Arifin
MF Muhammad Faris Bin Ramli
MF Muhammad Izzdin Shafiq Bin Yacob
MF Muhammad Muhaimin Bin Suhaimi
MF Muhammad Safuwan Bin Baharudin
MF Muhammad Yasir Bin Hanapi
MF Shahdan Bin Sulaiman
FW Mohammad Khairul Amri Bin Mohammad Kamal
FW Mohammad Khairul Nizam Bin Mohammad Kamal
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