THREE NEW FACES FOR TITLE HOLDERS SINGAPORE

The three newcomers are defenders Saiful Esah from newly-crowned S-League champions Singapore Armed Forces FC, Rosman Sulaiman from Home United and goalkeeper Hyrulnizam Juma’at from the Young Lions.

And while Singapore would have to make do with the absence of striker Mohd Khairul Amri due to an injury sustained in the recent RHB Singapore Cup, still the absence of 15 players who have at least played in one edition of the last two Asean biennial championships will make the difference.

Khairul (pic) will join another striker Fazrul Nawaz and midfielder Hariss Harun in the crock list.

“As the defending champions, it is our responsibility to play like champions,” said Radojko Avramovic, the head coach for Singapore.

“We have the best players in this squad and with the exception of the three injured players, it is up to the rest of the team to show that I was right in selecting them.”

Singapore will open their campaign in Group A against Cambodia in Jakarta on 5 December, 2008 before taking on Myanmar on 7 December and then Indonesia two days later.

Group B are hosts Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and Laos.

As part of their preparation, Singapore will play Vietnam this Wednesday at the Stadium Jurong East before flying to Malaysia for a match against the host at the Stadium MBJP, Petaling Jaya next Saturday.