Lions won’t roll over for star-studded Argentina

SINGAPORE – They may currently be ranked No 2 in the world, and boast superstars such as Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain and Angel Di Maria within their ranks.

However, Argentina should not expect an easy ride when they take on the 157th-ranked Lions in their friendly match at the National Stadium in two weeks’ time on June 13.

Despite their status as underdogs, the Lions have vowed to “fight till the final whistle” against their stronger, swiftier, and higher-ranked opponents.

That was the pledge that national head coach V Sundramoorthy made during Friday’s (June 2) media conference at the Singapore Sports Hub to promote the fixture, which was organised to mark the 125th anniversary of the Football Association of Singapore (FAS).

Sundram’s confidence may seem misplaced given the gulf in quality between the two teams, but he has good reason to be optimistic.

After all, the 51-year-old is no stranger to playing against, and beating, top class opponents. In 1983, the ex-Lion, who was famously known as ‘The Dazzler’ during his playing days, was involved in Singapore’s shock 2-1 win over German giants Bayern Munich.

The national custodian is drawing inspiration from that victory as he prepares the Lions to face Argentina in their highest-profile international fixture to date.

“I remember during my playing days, we played several top teams…(and) we managed to beat Bayern 2-1 at the National Stadium, so I believe it all boils down to (how you perform) on the day itself,” said Sundram.

“It’s going to be a tough game, but definitely the boys will keep their heads up and fight till the final whistle. We are all mentally prepared and motivated to face a big team like Argentina, and I believe it is good exposure for the players.

“The weather plays an important part as well. After 45 minutes, they’ll (Argentina) probably be struggling and we can capitalise on that. But we’re not thinking of the score line…we’re just thinking of how we can compete and keep ourselves coming out with our heads up.”

Lions vice-captain Hariss Harun said that playing games against high quality opposition will only help to improve the standard of the national team.

“For us, we need to treasure this (match). It’s not every day we can play top class players of this calibre on our home ground,” said the midfielder.

“The higher the quality of opposition we play, the better for the national team. Yes, we might concede a few goals, we might play a bad game, but overall, it will still be a learning experience for us. If we can play this kind of opposition on a regular basis, I’m sure it’ll be good for Singapore football as a whole.”

Singapore’s match against Argentina will bookend a busy fortnight for Sundram’s men which will see them play three matches in the span of a week.

The Lions will first take on Myanmar in a closed-door friendly next Tuesday (June 6) at the Jalan Besar Stadium, before playing Taiwan four days later (June 10) in a crucial Asian Cup qualifier (ACQ) match.

Having earned a credible goalless draw against Bahrain in their opening ACQ match in March, Singapore will be hoping to take the next step towards qualifying for the 2019 Asian Cup with a victory over Taiwan, who are ranked 160th in the world.

The importance of Singapore’s match against Taiwan was not lost on FAS deputy president Bernard Tan, who said: “The upcoming fortnight is obviously very important for Singapore football. We do have three games, but two especially important ones for us. The first is the ACQ group E match against Chinese Taipei.

“Obviously, with Sundramoorthy having led the team to an outstanding result in Bahrain, it puts us in a very good position, and we’re expecting good things with the boys next week.

“Then obviously, we also have this fantastic game (Singapore vs Argentina). It really is a privilege for us to celebrate our 125th anniversary against the world No 2, and I hope all football fans in Singapore will come down to the respective stadiums to watch both these fixtures.”

Tickets to the Singapore vs Argentina match are priced at S$40, S$78, S$138, S$188. Fans can purchase their tickets at www.sportshubtix.sg, the Singapore Indoor Stadium box office, all SingPost Outlets, or the hotline at +65 3158 7888.