Date: Mon, 10 Oct 2011
The time has come where Singapore’s dream of making it to the next round of the World Cup qualifiers, could prove to be over at the final whistle. But knowing the Lions, they will never back down without a fight.
After two rounds of FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifiers in Group A, Jordan are perched comfortably at the top of the table with six points while Singapore are stuck at the bottom with no points.
Jordan started their campaign with a 2-0 win in Iraq before grinding out a 2-1 win at home to China.
The Lions on the other hand kickstarted their campaign with a painful 2-1 loss in Kunming China before Iraq claimed all three points at the Jalan Besar Stadium on match day two.
With four games to go, Radojko Avramovic’s men have a tough road ahead of them and a win at home over Jordan will be a much needed boost in the arm for the Lions.
Avramovic’s biggest problem is in midfield with the suspension of Mustafic Fahrudin, a huge loss for the home side but the return of Hariss Harun has somehow levelled the playing field.
Since the home loss to Iraq, Singapore has claimed consecutive wins against the Selangor Selection side before following that result up with a 2-0 win in an international friendly against the Philippines.
In both games, Avramovic tinkered with his central midfield options between Isa Halim, Shi Jia Yi, Noh Rahman and Hariss.
With ‘magic toes’ Qiu Li out through a knee injury, it seems like Geylang United winger, Hafiz Rahim will get the nod to start on the right while Fazrul Nawaz will roam the left-side of the pitch.
Spearheading the Lions’ attack will be 41-year-old goal-scoring machine, Aleksandar Duric while captain Shahril Ishak is likely to occupy ‘the hole’ while being given license to roam and find that killer pass to split the visitors’ defence.
On the opposite side of the pitch, head coach Adnan Hamad will be confident of claiming his third victory in a row to continue their stay at the top of the table.
A lot will depend on Amer Khalil who has been in great form for the Jordanians and he even found the back of the net against China.
Hamad is not known to be a fan of surprises and he has always relied on continuity as he continues to put faith in the 23 players he has selected.
With a top vs bottom clash awaiting the fans at Jalan Besar Stadium, will it be the start of a charge up the table by the Lions or will Jordan continue to dominate proceedings in Group A and realize their World Cup dream?
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