Lions up against it in China Avramovic's men have to cope with high altitude and possible absence of Hariss and Safuwan

Source

SINGAPORE - The Lions' first match of the group stage of the Asian Zone World Cup qualifiers will be in China on Sept 2, and Radojko Avramovic's men have already been put on the back foot.

Singapore will open their Group A campaign against the Chinese in the south-western city of Kunming, which is located 1,900m above sea level.

Not only will they have to struggle in the thin air, they could go into the game without midfield inspiration Hariss Harun and central defender Safuwan Baharudin, who were both outstanding in the 1-1 draw with Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur last Thursday.

Hariss, 20, is set to begin his National Service (NS) on Aug 10 with the Singapore Police Force, while 19-year-old Safuwan is midway through his stint with the men in blue and has yet to be given the green light to play.

Today understands that three players who were on the bench in KL - defender Afiq Yunos and midfielders Zulfahmi Arifin and Nazrul Nazari - are also expected to be called up for NS within the month.

To compound matters, the Lions will go into the game three days after the fasting month of Ramadan ends.

Besides China, the other teams in Group A are Iraq and Jordan.

China have arranged for all their home fixtures to be played in the high altitude of Kunming and Football Association of Singapore (FAS) president Zainudin Nordin said yesterday there are no grounds to appeal to FIFA.

Said Zainudin: "Any country can host a match in any city within their territory. They may want to take such an important match to people in cities that have never had the opportunity to see their national team play in a stadium.

"We are doing all we can to make sure our boys are well prepared to face the conditions in Kunming.

"How much time we can get to help them acclimatise will depend on everyone's schedules, time off from S-League clubs and other employers."

The Lions' second game in the group will be against Iraq at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Sept 6 and the FAS are trying to see if at least Hariss and Safuwan can be included in the squad.

Said team manager Eugene Loo: "We are talking to both players and their parents, and are making enquiries with the Police if this is possible. We hope to be able to get an answer from the authorities very soon."

"Oxygen levels are lower at that altitude and you need two to three weeks to get acclimatised to the environment," said Dr Kelvin Chew, consultant physician at the Changi General Hospital's sports medicine centre.

"In that period they will gain more red blood cells to carry more oxygen for the body."

Former Singapore striker Fandi Ahmad has not played in any matches at high-altitude. Yet he feels professional footballers have to be ready to play in any conditions.

"We can't be good in one condition and then say we don't want to play in another kind of environment. This is football and the game is supposed to be played anywhere," said the former star striker.

Group A third round fixtures

Sept 2: China vs S'pore (away)

Sept 6: S'pore vs Iraq (home)

Oct 11: S'pore vs Jordan (home)

Nov 11: Jordan vs S'pore (away)

Nov 15: S'pore vs China (home)

Feb 29: Iraq vs S'pore (away)