Written By: Kenneth Ho

A large number of S.League players have been called up for the Singapore Under-21 squad participating in the 2015 Vietnam U21 Newspaper Cup.

Courts Young Lions will be well represented with six players selected, while players from Home United, Tampines Rovers, Warriors FC, Hougang United and Geylang International too have been called up.

The mix of S.League representative pleasantly surprised Hougang United’s forward Fareez Farhan, as he shared this is the first time in four editions that he has seen such a good mix of S.League and NFA players.

“When I was playing in the last few Newspaper Cup, almost the whole team was made up of NFA and Court Young Lions but this is the first time there is more mix and more club players,” Fareez said.

“This shows there is talent in the S.League and Prime League and it shows we can be good enough to be called up for Singapore.

Fareez has now called upon his teammates to showcase their ability at the tournament, and to stake their claims for a first-team spot in the S.League next season.

“This season I get a lot of playing done at Hougang and I scored a few goals,” he added.

“It’s different from my time at Courts Young Lions as I have more experienced players around me teaching me what to do but it still feels good to get called up and I hope we can show our ability and leadership.”

Head Coach, National Youth Teams Richard Tardy has not set his players any targets to achieve, other than for them to showcase their fighting spirit and desire to get a good result.

““This tournament will be a very good gauge for us to see where we stand in the region at this age group,” Tardy said.

“Although the rules allow us to bring three overaged players, we have decided to bring just one, Afiq Noor, so that we can truly test our youths. We are glad our players will get a chance to experience playing in a few international matches.”

Singapore will kick off their tournament on 20 November against Thailand Under-21s.

Although the Thais are seen as one of the powerhouses around the region, Fareez believes the Thais should also be wary of Singapore’s bite.

“It will be a tough game against Thailand but we are all in the South East Asian region and if they can be at the top, so can we,” Fareez added.

Full squad list

Goalkeepers: Mohamed Zulfairuuz Bin Mohamed Rudy (Home United), Muhammad Zharfan Bin Rohaizad (LionsXII)

Defenders: Luqman Ismail (Courts Young Lions), Marcus Wheeler (Warriors FC), Mohammad Faizal (Tampines Rovers), Amirul Adli (Courts Young Lions), Ashrul Syafeeq ( N/A), Muhammad Zakir (Courts Young Lions),

Midfielders: Ammirul Emmran (Courts Young Lions), Andin Addie Djayady (NFA U18), Joshua Bernard Pereira (NFA U18), Gareth Low (NFA U18), Afiq Noor (Courts Young Lions), Hami Syahin (NFA U18), Muhelmy Suhaimi (Tampines Rovers), Fareez Farhan (Hougang United), Muhammad Syahiran (Home United)

Forwards: Shafeeq Faruk (Geylang International), Irfan Fandi (Courts Young Lions), Taufik Suparno (Courts Young Lions)