Football: Commitment tops Stange's list

Winning is not utmost on national football coach Bernd Stange's mind ahead of today's AFC Asian Cup qualifier against Syria in Teheran, Iran.

Not when he is shorn of at least six first-team players to face a side eager to avenge last month's shock 1-2 loss at the Jalan Besar Stadium.

No wonder the German said: "We will try to get a good result here, but I will be very happy if we don't lose."

Instead, what the 65-year-old will be looking out for is commitment and adaptability, particularly among the young players called up to fill the void left by regulars such as Hariss Harun, Safuwan Baharudin and Baihakki Khaizan.

The likes of Afiq Yunos, 22, Faris Ramli, 21, Anumanthan Kumar, 19, and Raihan Rahman, 22, could possibly feature in Teheran, which was picked as a neutral venue with civil war raging in Syria.

Said Stange: "I will be looking for commitment to play for Singapore. I want to see how good, how strong, and how committed they are to represent the national team at a high level.

"They should also try to fit into our system, which has helped us achieve success in our past matches."

Indeed, his high-tempo, possession- football system is already reaping rewards since his arrival in May, with the 155th-ranked Lions combining well last month to stun Syria, a team ranked 14 places above them in the Fifa world rankings.

While Stange is ruling out qualifying for the 2015 Asian Cup, preferring to work towards a long-term target of reaching the 2019 edition, he insisted that this is no excuse for his team to falter.

"It is a matter of confidence and experience, which we lack a little bit, but I am expecting a lot from our youngsters," he said.

"Against better opponents, the most important thing is to control the game. The youngsters should not panic if things go wrong, even if we are one goal down."

Despite entering the game as underdogs, Stange stressed that the last thing on his mind is to deviate from his high-tempo attacking style.

He said: "Yes we will be careful, but we will never ever change our philosophy. We cannot be afraid. We cannot sit back and wait for the opposition just because we have six or seven players missing.

"We have to control the game, keep the ball and possession, to make it difficult for Syria."

Syria are bottom of Group A with one point after three games, while Singapore are a spot above them with three points.

Oman lead the standings with seven points, ahead of Jordan who have five. The top two teams from each of the five groups will qualify for the Finals in Australia, plus the best third-placed team.

Stange is encouraged by what he has seen from training so far, adding: "The boys are enthusiastic and focused. They are a little quiet, because they are feeling the pressure, but that's good.

"The experienced players are also talking to the younger guys and guiding them. There is a good spirit in the team."

For now, the former Belarus coach said his priority is making the players confident ahead of a Syrian side itching to set the record straight after the Jalan Besar loss.

"My job is to give them more confidence as many of them have not played regularly at this level," said Stange. "It's an adventure for me to go into the game with this team. I look forward to seeing how they perform."

siangyee@sph.com.sg

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