Out of Wilderness as Fadhil is named in Coach Stange's Oman plan

(This entry is formulated based on the media release issued by the Football Association of Singapore)

Prayers answered - Fadhil is named in Stange's squad

To be officially named in National Team Head Coach Bernd Stange's first competitive match against Oman in the upcoming AFC Asian Cup qualifiers, should bring some smiles to Hougang United's custodian Fadhil Salim, following that painful quarter-final exit from the Singapore Cup last Friday against Balestier Khalsa.

Long touted to be a national team material by the Hougang supporters, the calling up of the 30-year-old custodian would be a much-needed cheer for the Cheetahs who are experiencing a poor campaign so far.

However, the former Gombak United 'keeper knows that it will be a tough battle with the competition from Lions XII's Izwan Mahbud and Hassan Sunny of Warriors fighting for the right to stand in between the sticks on 14th of August.

Balestier's Qiu Li is eager to prove his critics wrong

With his good showing of late for his club, Balestier's Qiu Li retained his place in the setup and he is eager to prove his critics wrong against the Omanis after a forgettable outing during the last December's AFF Suzuki Cup tournament.

Sharing his thoughts on the assembled contingent in the media statement that announced this evening, Coach Stange said: “It was not easy to finalize the squad but I am very pleased we have put together the team now. I am confident that these players have the capabilities to help the team achieve a good result against Oman. It is a well-balanced squad comprising experienced internationals and promising youngsters."

According to the same statement, the Lions will begin the preparatory training on 3rd of August, and centralized training on 10th of August.

The Squad of 23 for the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers against Oman

S/No	Name	Age	Position	Club
1	Izwan Mahbud	23	Goalkeeper	LionsXII
2	Hassan Sunny	29	Goalkeeper	Warriors FC
3	Fadhil Salim	30	Goalkeeper	Hougang United FC
4	Baihakki Khaizan	29	Defender	LionsXII
5	Safuwan Baharudin	22	Defender	LionsXII
6	Afiq Yunos	23	Defender	Courts Young Lions
7	Shariff Samad	29	Defender	Woodlands Wellington FC
8	Shaiful Esah	27	Defender	Tampines Rovers FC
9	Faritz Hameed	23	Defender	LionsXII
10	Ismail Yunos	27	Defender	Home United FC
11	Hafiz Abu Sujad	23	Defender	LionsXII
12	Adam Swandi	17	Midfielder	FC Metz
13	Sahil Suhaimi	21	Midfielder	Courts Young Lions
14	Anumanthan	19	Midfielder	Courts Young Lions
15	Gabriel Quak	23	Midfielder	LionsXII
16	Hariss Harun	23	Midfielder	LionsXII
17	Isa Halim	27	Midfielder	LionsXII
18	Noh Rahman	33	Midfielder	Home United FC
19	Khairul Amri	28	Forward	Tampines Rovers FC
20	Shahril Ishak	29	Forward	LionsXII
21	Shahfiq Ghani	21	Forward	LionsXII
22	Qiu Li	32	Forward	Balestier Khalsa FC
23	Indra Sahdan	34	Forward	Home United FC