Hariss Harun leads the lineup of 11 Lion City Sailors players selected by Singapore national team Head Coach Takuyuki Nishiyaga in his provisional 29-man Singapore squad for the upcoming ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Mitsubishi Electric (ME) Cup.

Lions’ captain Hariss, along with 10 others – Hassan Sunny, Amirul Adli, Nur Adam Abdullah, Hafiz Nor, Adam Swandi, Hami Syahin, M. Anumanthan, Shahdan Sulaiman, Faris Ramli and Song Ui-young – are in contention to fly the flag for Singapore at the biennial regional tournament that takes place from 20 December 2022 to 16 January 2023. 

Two Sailors who missed out on the last Singapore squad which lost 4-0 to Vietnam and drew 1-1 with India in a Tri-Nations series in September – Nur Adam and Hami – return to the national side and will be hoping to impress in the Sailors’ upcoming friendly match against eight-time German champions Borussia Dortmund to further stake their claim for a spot in the final ME Cup squad. 

The Lions will travel to Chiba, Japan for a training camp from 1 to 12 December, where they are set to play two training matches. The team will then face the Maldives in an international ‘A’ friendly at the Jalan Besar Stadium on 17 December after which Nishiyaga will cut the list down to a final 23-man squad that will represent the nation at the ME Cup. 

The Lions have been drawn into Group B alongside Causeway rivals Malaysia, Vietnam, Laos and will kick off their campaign against Myanmar on Christmas Eve.

Thailand are the defending champions and record six-time winners, while Singapore have won it four times and are looking to build on an encouraging run into the semi-finals in the previous edition. 

Sailors’ Lions representatives in Singapore’s 29-man AFF ME Cup provisional squad:

Goalkeeper: Hassan Sunny 

Defenders: Hariss Harun, Amirul Adli, Nur Adam Abdullah

Midfielders: Hafiz Nor, Adam Swandi, Hami Syahin, M. Anumanthan, Shahdan Sulaiman

Forwards: Faris Ramli, Song Ui-young