Singapore U-23 Team To Play In Vietnam Cup

The Singapore Under-23 team is set to compete in the Vietnam Football Federation Cup which will begin on 5 November at Hanoi, Vietnam.

Singapore, coached by ex-international defender, Terry Pathmanathan, is grouped with the Under-23 teams from Vietnam, Thailand and China.

Singapore’s first match is against hosts Vietnam on 5 November at the My Dinh National Stadium.

The winner of the round robin tournament will walk away with US$25,000 while the first and second runner up will each win US$10,000 and US$5,000.

Home United’s midfield quartet of Isa Halim, Shahdan Sulaiman, Firdous Idros and Haikal Norasikin have been called by Coach Pathmanathan.

“It is good that players like Isa (Halim) are able to join the team. He has not played much for his club this season and a tournament like this will help him improve on his match fitness as we get ready for the upcoming SEA (South East Asian) Games,” said Pathmanathan.

“Tournaments like these are good as the players get to play against teams like Thailand and Vietnam who play with a different style.

“The boys will be able to gain invaluable experience and it is a good platform for them to show us their potential as they fight for a spot in the SEA Games team,” added Pathmanathan.

One of the players who will try to catch the coach’s eye is midfielder Shahfiq Ghani.

The 17-year old was part of the Olympic team that took part in the recently concluded Vietnam Youth Newspaper Cup.

His two goals and a Man-of-the-Match performance helped Singapore reach the semi final of the tournament in Southern Vietnam and he will be looking to break into the SEA Games squad.