Singapore Announces Squad for Upcoming Thailand and Hong Kong Fixtures

Singapore has released its squad list ahead of its international friendly against Thailand and the top of the table AFC Asian Cup qualifier against Hong Kong. Hong Kong and Singapore currently sit on 8 points each at the top of the Asian Cup Qualification Group table.

Singapore is the narrow favourite among the top gambling websites, but their friendly against Thailand could have an impact on this depending on performances or potential injuries. The Thailand game will take place on November 13th, with the Hong Kong game coming five days later.

The team will then have a rest before picking up their Asian Cup qualification campaign on March 31st against Bangladesh. The whole country will be hoping that they can go into this break top of the group.

The squad named for their November fixtures consists of three goalkeepers in Izwan Mahbud, Rudy Khairullah, and Syazwan Buhari, and six defenders in Akram Azman, Amirul Adli, Irfan Najeeb, Lionel Tan, Joshua Pereira, Safuwan Baharudin, and Ryhan Stewart.

The midfield group to make the 26-man squad includes Farhan Zulkifli, Jared Gallagher, Joel Chew, Hami Syahin, Hariss Harun, Glenn Kweh, Jacob Mahler, Kyoga Nakamura, Shah Shahiran, Song Uiyoung, and Harhys Stewart.

The forwards completing the lineup are Jordan Emaviwe, Faris Ramli, Ikhsan Fandi, Ilhan Fandi, and Shawal Anuar.

The teams battled out a 0-0 draw in March on Matchday 1 of the qualification group, and things look equally poised for the return fixture. Hong Kong will enjoy the home advantage and will be keen to make it count, but Singapore won't make things easy for them.

The last three fixtures between the two countries have been draws, with the other two matches ending 1-1. However, you would have to go back to August of 2012 for the last time Singapore claimed a victory against their rivals.

Since then, Hong Kong has enjoyed the better of the action, winning three of the next seven fixtures. While form is important in football, the fact that these games have been spread out over the last 13 years is important to remember. In fact, the last time Hong Kong won was in 2016, so Singapore won't feel like they have little hope of a result.

Singapore is currently ranked 155th in the world, nestled between Fiji in 154th and Moldova in 156th. This represents an improvement of three places since the rankings were updated, boosted by good recent results, including a win and a draw against India.

Hong Kong is slightly ahead in the rankings in 148th place, but this represents just how close the teams are to each other in terms of quality and rankings. If Singapore is able to overcome Hong Kong on their own turf and continue their good form, they could overtake them in the world rankings soon.

A friendly against 97th-placed Thailand should give the team the runout needed to prepare them for their showdown in Hong Kong, regardless of the score.