Singapore legend Fandi Ahmad, who has been assigned the task of head coach of Singapore Selection squad for the 2017 Sultan of Selangor's Cup says his team have the firepower to win the prestigious trophy.
The 16th edition of the annual friendly tournament will be held at Singapore's National Stadium for the first time since the 2009 edition and this year will also mark the tournament debut at the Singapore Sports Hub, which has reportedly sold 24,788 tickets for the match as on 2 May.
Players from all S.League teams, except Brunei DPMM, are part of 21-man squad coached by Fandi and managed by former Singapore international Noh Alam Shah. Foreign players, including Home United's top-scorer Stipe Plazibat, Albirex Niigata duo of Yasutaka Yanagi and Kento Nagasaki are expected to play a key role alongside local stars Hassan Sunny, Hariss Harun, Khairul Nizam, Irfan Fandi, Khairul Amri and Madhu Mohana.
"Definitely, we will be looking to play attacking football in a beautiful stadium, demonstrate some skills for the fans, and go out for the win," Fandi said, as quoted by ESPN.
"It is an honour for me to lead the team; I have 25 players with me, and I have yet to confirm the final 20. We have four players with the under-22s and they will play Vanuatu under-20s on Thursday. Also, players like Madhu, Juma'at [Jantan] are still having injuries, so I shall wait to make the final decision."
Tournament co-chairman Teo Hock Seng added that it was an honour for Singapore football to host the tournament again and that he is confident of the hosts defending the title successfully at the National Stadium on Saturday.
"It is with great pride that we can host this event again. We have two attacking players on the bench [in Fandi and Alam Shah] -- they will be screaming their hearts out for the players to score goals. That is what everyone want to see," Teo said.
[Tickets for the matches can be bought at www.sportshubtix.com, Sports Hub Box Office, SingPost outlets and the Sports Hub hotline (+65 3158 7888).]
Apart from the main match between Singapore selection and Selangor selection, Singapore veterans and Selangor Veterans will also go head-to-head. A third fixture, "Singapore-Selangor Schools Challenge Cup" will also be staged at the National Stadium where Singapore Sports School's U16 side will play before the veterans match.
Check out the full squad, here.
