Lion City Cup 2023: Sailors’ Nathan Mao included in Singapore U15 squad

The Singapore U15 squad for the Lion City Cup was announced on Wednesday (Aug 30).

Two noteworthy names are Uchenna Eziakor and Nathan Mao.

Uchenna was one of the eight recipients of the Unleash The Roar! (UTR)’s inaugural overseas football scholarship, while Nathan made history in March when he became the youngest ever player to play in the Singapore Premier League (SPL) at 15 years and five days old.

Nathan has since made another appearance for the Lion City Sailors in the SPL, and even came on as a substitute in the club’s friendly against Tottenham Hotspur in July.

The squad of 22 were called up by head coach Angel Toledano, who will take charge of the U15 team for the tournament. He will be assisted by Ron Yu, a full-time coach from the UTR! project,  and Patrick Paran, who serves as the head coach of the ActiveSG Football Academy U15 Development Centre team.

The Cubs will face Malaysia’s Selangor FC at 8pm on Friday in the semi-finals.

The other semi-final will see Indonesia’s Borneo F.C play Thailand’s BG Pathum earlier on Friday, at 5pm. The third-place play-off and final will be held on Sunday (Sep 3).

In its press release, the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) said that the U15 team have had centralised training since Aug 14 to prepare for the tournament. The preparation involved friendly matches, including fixtures against Malaysian side Johor Darul Ta’zim FC U15 and Geylang International U17.

The Lion City Cup will be the squad’s first international tournament.

Tickets are on sale at the FAS website.

Grandstand tickets will be priced at $10 for adults and $5 for concession for a single matchday. Each ticket grants access to both matches per matchday and individuals can buy up to 12 tickets per transaction, across any category.

Fans will also receive a 20 per cent discount off the full price for standard tickets when purchasing a full bundle for both matchdays. This is applicable to both adult and concession ticket holders.

The full squad list is as follows:

Goalkeepers: Jarec Ng, Noor Aydrin (both Singapore Sports School)

Defenders: Muhammad Luth Harith, Ahmad Ilhan Rizqullah, Kieran Tan, Dani Qalish (all Lion City Sailors), Ahmad Martin Roslan, Muhammad Iliya Naufal, Shafrel Ariel (all Singapore Sports School), Damien Chiow (Geylang International)

Midfielders: Andy Reefqy, Rae Peh (both Lion City Sailors), Jaden Heng (Active SG Football Academy), Harith Danish Irwan, Mohammad Nyqil Iyyan (both Singapore Sports School), Uday Ghoshal (Tanjong Pagar United)

Forwards: Uchenna Eziakor, Nathan Mao, Sarrvin Raj, Jadon Quah (all Lion City Sailors), Muhammad Helmi, Aqif Ariyan Saifuddin (both Albirex Niigata (S))