There are 10 Lion City Sailors players named in Takayuki Nishigaya’s 25-strong Singapore National Team’s squad which will face Guam in a two-legged playoff during the October FIFA international window. The playoff is Round 1 of the joint qualification process for both the 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2027 AFC Asian Cup.
Lions captain Hariss Harun along with nine others – Lionel Tan, Zulqarnaen Suzliman, Christopher van Huizen, M. Anumanthan, Hafiz Nor, Hami Syahin, Adam Swandi, Shawal Anuar, as well as custodian Zharfan Rohaizad – kept their places after being named in the squad for the September friendlies against Tajikistan and Chinese Taipei.
After striking double digits in the Singapore Premier League (SPL) in a strong debut season with the Sailors, the in-form Shawal will be relishing the opportunity to do the same against Guam – he is just one away from hitting the 10-goal mark for the Lions.
The 32-year-old, who also scored a memorable goal against Tottenham Hotspur in July, has emerged as the most important attacker in Nishigaya’s ranks in the last couple of years. Eight out of his nine goals for the Lions came in his last 10 international appearances.
Zulqarnaen is similarly aiming to build on an encouraging 2023 campaign in which he has already made 20 appearances in all competitions for the Sailors.
Now on 23 caps, involvement in both Guam games will mean he will hit 25 international appearances for the Lions.
The first leg will be played at the Singapore Sports Hub’s National Stadium on Thursday, 12 October, with the return leg taking place five days later at the GFA National Training Center in Harmon, Guam.
The winner over these two legs will go on to Round 2 of the Qualifiers where they will be placed in Group C along with China, South Korea and Thailand.