Avramovic's mix of experience and youth

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Singapore coach drops host of Indonesia-based players and calls up 13 rookies

SINGAPORE - Five of the eight Indonesia-based players, including striker Noh Alam Shah and defender Baihakki Khaizan, have been left out of Rodojko Avramovic's provisional squad of 33 players for Singapore's Asian Zone 2014 World Cup qualifiers in July.

Only three players who ply their trade in Indonesia - midfield ace Mustafic Fahrudin, midfielder Sharil Ishak and striker Khairul Amri Kamal - are in the list, along with 13 players who have earned the nod for the first time.

National coach Avramovic is gearing up for a possible blockbuster clash against Malaysia - the Asean champions are favoured to overcome Taiwan in the second round - in the third round of the pre-World Cup qualifiers, and there was much anticipation over his latest squad after Football Association of Singapore (FAS) president Zainudin Nordin promised sweeping changes following the Lions' shock exit from the AFF Suzuki Cup in December.

Avramovic will eventually trim the squad down to between 23 and 25 players before the home-and-away qualifiers, scheduled on July 23 (at home) and July 28 (away), and the Serb feels the new-look national team could go on to be even stronger than the one he guided to back-to-back ASEAN titles (2004, 2007).

"This time, I think they will be more successful because we have been preparing the youngsters for quite some time and they played in the last two SEA Games (2007, 2009)," said the Serb.

The average age of the 13 new faces is 21, and while Avramovic found it easy to mix them up with experienced players in midfield and attack, defence, Singapore's Achilles heel in the last few matches, gave him much food for thought.

Veteran Daniel Bennett is in the mix, along with Gombak United's Ismail Yunos and Juma'at Jantan of Home United. The likes of the Courts Young Lions' Safuwan Baharudin could also figure in the final analysis.

One player in the squad will raise eyebrows.

Many had expected the worse for Aleksandar Duric when FAS chief Zainudin made the call for more youngsters in the team, but the 40-year-old Tampines Rovers striker has been included in Avramovic's latest squad.

Explaining his decision, Avramovic said: "If you look at the S-League at the moment, the top scorer is still Duric and second is Qiu Li. (Khairul) Amri is doing well in Indonesia and I don't think we have seen the best of him yet."

The coach insisted players not in the squad can be recalled if the current slate are injured or are not up to the mark.

While he will only select the best available players, Avramovic said: "We must not forget that those who were previously in the squad have contributed to the national team and their efforts must be acknowledged. So everyone still has a chance to be included in the squad.

"I think we must have that flexibility and the possibility to call players we may need in the World Cup qualifiers."

The Lions are scheduled to play three international friendlies, against Maldives on June 7 and two matches against Indonesia, one in Jakarta on June 29 and another match here on July 3. There could be another against Laos on July 18.

All players will be assessed in training and in the friendlies, and Avramovic hopes he can give the newcomers time to make their mark. "We are not going to eliminate the new players after one game. We must be patient and give them a chance."



The 33-man squad:

Goalkeepers: Lionel Lewis (Home United), Hassan Sunny (Tampines Rovers), Izwan Mahbud (Courts Young Lions)

Defenders: Juma'at Jantan (Home United), Afiq Yunos, Shakir Hamzah, Irwan Shah, Safuwan Baharudin (Courts Young Lions), Ismail Yunos, Hamqaamal Shah (Gombak United), Daniel Bennett, Saiful Esah (SAFFC), Delwinder Singh (Tanjong Pagar United)

Midfielders: Shahdan Sulaiman, Shukor Zailan (Tampines Rovers), Ruzaini Zainal (SAFFC), Shi Jiayi, Isa Halim (Home United), Mustafic Fahrudin (Persela Lamongan), Hariss Harun, Faris Ramli, Zulfahmi Arifin, Nazrul Nazari, Raihan Rahman, Fazly Ayob (Courts Young Lions), Shahril Ishak (Medan Chiefs), Andrew Tan (Balestier Khalsa)

Forwards: Aleksandar Duric (Tampines Rovers), Fazrul Nawaz (SAFFC), Khairul Amri (Persiba Balikpapan), Qiu Li, Sufian Anuar (Home United), Khairul Nizam (Courts Young Lions)