Jakarta, Wednesday, October 19, 2011 — Singapore have been handed a tough draw for the upcoming South-East Asian (SEA) Games football tournament.

They are drawn to play defending champions Malaysia, home team Indonesia and Thailand in Group A. Cambodia round off the group.

While the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) has set a place in the final as a target, this does not look likely given the team’s preparation. Head coach Slobodan Pavkovic has not had the full team to work with because Hariss Harun, Safuwan Baharudin and Izwan Mahbud were playing in the senior national team for the World Cup qualifiers.

Even though the three have been released to focus on the SEA Games, the FAS are still awaiting news about other players who may not be released because of National Service commitments.

It will certainly be a pleasant surprise if the Young Lions qualify for the semi-finals, never mind make the final.

Football Squad Approved by SNOC
Chan Yuhui Jasper, Hariss s/o Harun, Loo Zhan Quan Gary, Izwan Mahbud, Afiq Yunos, Firdaus Kasman, Al-Qaasimy A Rahman, Fairoz Hasan, Faris Ramli, Fazli Ayob, Hafiz Abu Sujad, Irwan Shah Arismail, Khairul Nizam Kamal, Nazrul Ahmad Nazari, Safuwan Baharudin, Shahir Hamzah, Zulfahmi Mohd Arifin, Navin Nigel Vanu, Safirul Sulaiman, Shahdan Sulaiman

GROUPS
Group A: Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia
Group B: Vietnam, Laos, Brunei, Timor Leste, Myanmar, Philippines

Singapore Matches
Singapore vs Malaysia — Monday, November 7, 5pm
Singapore vs Cambodia — Wednesday, November 9, 8pm
Singapore vs Indonesia — Friday, November 11, 3pm
Singapore vs Thailand — Thursday, November 17, 5pm