Singapore squad for AFC U-17 Asian Cup qualifiers announced; 10 receive maiden call-up

The Singapore Under-16 National Team comprising 23 players will head to Dhaka, Bangladesh on Sunday (Oct 2) for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Under-17 Asian Cup Qualifiers.

Ten will represent Singapore for the first time in any age-group tournament, including nine Secondary 3 students. 

They have been called up as the qualifiers will coincide with the ‘O’ and ‘N’ Level examination period. 

Of the players called up, 13 are from Singapore Sports School. The rest hail from Montfort Secondary, St Gabriel’s Secondary, Anderson Secondary, Westwood Secondary, St Patrick’s Secondary, Meridian Secondary, Victoria School and Raffles Institution. 

The team will begin their Group E campaign against host Bangladesh on Oct 5, before taking on Yemen on Oct 7 and Bhutan on Oct 9. 

All of Singapore’s matches will be played at the Bir Shrestha Shaheed Shipahi Mohammad Mustofa Kamal Stadium.

According to a press release on Friday (Sep 30) by the Football Association of Singapore, the team has been training since August. 

They played four friendly games against Albirex Niigata (S) U-19, Hougang United U-21, Tanjong Pagar United U-21 and Malaysia U-16 teams and “gained valuable match experience”.

The AFC Under-17 Asian Cup is a biennial tournament and also serves as a qualification tournament for the FIFA U-17 World Cup. 

The tournament will resume next year for the first time since 2018.

The full squad list is as follows:

Goalkeepers: Aniq Zulfadli (Montfort Secondary School), Edgar Leo (St. Gabriel’s Secondary School), and Isaac Lee (Singapore Sports School)

Defenders: Brayden Goh (Anderson Secondary School), Hadirul Harraz (Singapore Sports School), Idzham Shah (Westwood Secondary School), Ilham Iskandar (Singapore Sports School), Kegan Phang (Singapore Sports School), Marcus Heng (Raffles Institution) and Shaddiq Mansor (Singapore Sports School)

Midfielders: Aiman Zayani (Singapore Sports School), Danish Haqimi (Singapore Sports School), Harris Ilhan (St. Patrick’s Secondary School), Jonan Tan (St. Gabriel’s Secondary School), Loo Kai Sheng (Singapore Sports School), Rasul Ramli (Singapore Sports School), Sky Yeo (Singapore Sports School) and Yusril Hanapi (Meridian Secondary School)

Forwards: Ahmad Luthfi (Singapore Sports School), Aqil Rusyaidi (Singapore Sports School), Fernandez Casey (Singapore Sports School), Rayyan Tan (Victoria School) and Syazwan Latiff (Meridian Secondary School)