FAS reveals squad for FIFA World Cup 2018 preliminary qualifier

SINGAPORE - The Football Association of Singapore (FAS) have announced the national squad for the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2018 Preliminary Qualification Round 2 matches on Oct 8 and Oct 13, 2015, which will be against Afghanistan and Cambodia respectively.

With an average age of 25.5, the squad includes LionsXII midfielder Christopher van Huizen and Courts Young Lions duo Amirul Adli and Anumanthan Mohan Kumar.

This is the first call-up to the national team for Christopher, while Adli and Anu last played for the Lions in 2014.

National Coach Bernd Stange said: "Christopher, Adli and Anu are three of our best young talents and they have performed well for their respective clubs in the past few months. Their call-up to the National A Team is testament to the hard work they have put in as well as the significant roles played by their club coaches.

"I am happy to have this squad and these are the best available players. Going forward, I will continue to identify and select more young players for the national team."

On the suspensions of Hariss Harun and Safuwan Baharudin, Coach Stange said: "We will continue to play our way of football, and our players will have to step up. With passion, commitment and determination, we will try to overcome the absence of Hariss and Safuwan - two of our top players - for the Afghanistan match. This is a young team but I am confident in these boys. We have to fight from the first till the very last minute against Afghanistan and we need to give our very best. If we do so and together with our fans, there will only be one winner - and that is us."

Expressing delight and excitement at his first call-up to the national team, Christopher said: "It has been a great year for me and I must thank Coaches Bernd Stange and Fandi Ahmad for their roles in guiding and mentoring me. I am grateful to them for their trust and confidence in me and I will continue to work hard and keep learning from my coaches.

"In addition, my family and fans also played a key role in my progress during the past one year and it is my wish to see our fans clad in red and pack the National Stadium on both match-days. This is a young team and the fans' support will make a difference to us."

The national team will commence training at Geylang Field on Monday evening at 5.30pm.

The full squad:

candicec@sph.com.sg