SINGAPORE (28 March 2016) – Captain Shahril Ishak feels that it is imperative that Singapore continue their winning ways so as to build towards a successful AFF Suzuki Cup 2016 at the end of the year.
Singapore will take on Afghanistan in the 2018 FIFA World Cup/2019 AFC Asian Cup Group E qualifying match tomorrow at at Takhti Stadium in Tehran, Iran.
“As players, we are all taking this match very seriously. We may have secured third position in our qualifying group, but Afghanistan will be going all out still because they want to make sure they are one of the four best fourth-placed teams, and make it to the next round of qualifications,” said Shahril.
“It has been a good qualifying campaign so far, and we want to end it with a good result. We also want to make sure we do well because our world ranking is important to us. Doing well in this match will boost our ranking, and give us a better draw for the next round of the AFC Asian Cup qualifications next year.
“This year is a AFF Suzuki Cup year, so we will also take this, and all other international matches this year, as part of our preparations.”
Added coach Bernd Stange: “it won’t be easy to play Afghanistan especially under the current climate conditions but we are raring to go. We are in a good position and we want to continue the positive momentum.”
