SINGAPORE - National Under-23 football coach Fandi Ahmad hailed his side’s 1-1 draw with North Korea in their AFC Under-23 Championship qualifier on Sunday (March 24) as their best performance since he took charge of the team in October 2016.
Ikhsan Fandi scored a superb solo goal within a minute of kick-off, but North Korea equalised six minutes later at the MFF Football Centre in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
Singapore are third in Group G on two points from two matches, two points behind North Korea and Hong Kong, who beat hosts Mongolia 1-0 in the other match on Sunday.
The Young Lions have a chance to top the group and qualify for the tournament finals for the first time if North Korea and Hong Kong play out a draw in their final game on Tuesday and Fandi’s boys beat Mongolia by more than one goal in a later game.
The 11 group winners and four best runners-up will qualify for the 2020 Under-23 Championship in Thailand in January. The top three finishers in the tournament will qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.Â
Fandi told The Straits Times: “I’ve told the boys that miracles do happen, but we have to work to create them, too. All we can do now is work hard and enjoy the ride, and I’m happy to be on this journey with this bunch of players.â€
He was delighted by the effort and application his players showed against North Korea, who were ranked ninth out of 44 teams in the qualification tournament – Singapore are ranked 30th.
The 56-year-old’s second son, Ikhsan, had put Singapore in front inside the first minute, latching on to a clever through pass by Hami Syahin and racing down the left flank before squeezing a shot inside the North Korean goalkeeper’s near post.
Ikhsan, 19, said: “After Hami played that pass, I could hear everyone on the bench shouting ‘take him on’ so I just kept running at the defender towards goal, and shot.
“I didn’t even see where the goal or goalkeeper was, my only thought was to get it on target.â€
North Korea, however, equalised in the seventh minute through a cool turn and finish by Park Kwang Hun.
But the 2016 Under-23 Championship quarter-finalists were unable to add a second goal as Fandi’s side defended stoutly to deny their opponents clear-cut chances.
“North Korea are a very good team, but our boys battled till the very end, and we survived,†said Fandi.
“The tactical discipline was there, the boys coped very well. Now we look ahead to Mongolia and we will play to win. They are fighters but, tactically and technically, they are not stronger than us.â€
Added Ikhsan: “We’ve drawn two games now (after the 1-1 draw with Hong Kong on Friday), and the boys are focused to get the win against Mongolia.
“They’re a good team with some fast and skilful players, but we have that in our team as well.
“We’ve worked so hard (to qualify) and we’re going to try our best and see how things work out.â€
Football: Van de Beek gives Ajax edge over Tottenham in semi
Kane insists club rivalries will not split England camp 20/03/2019 Oman Observer LONDON: England captain Harry Kane insists the Three Lions' squad are too united to be divided by the tension of club rivalries surrounding the Premier League title race and upcoming Champions League ties.
Kane insists club rivalries will not split England camp
Liverpool will spend Christmas on top of the Premier League after goals from Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk earned them a 2-0 win at Wolves on Friday, opening up a four-point lead over second
Liverpool seal Christmas top spot as Salah, Dijk sink Wolves
Game of many returns for Gunners - theworldnews.net
Ake strikes late to sink nine-man Spurs Bournemouth, United Kingdom: Nine-man Tottenham Hotspur's bid for Champions League football was rocked on Saturday after Nathan Ake's last-gasp winner punished red cards for Son Heung-min and Juan Foyth and condemned Spurs to a 1-0 Premier League defeat at Bournemouth.
Ake strikes late to sink nine-man Spurs - World Soccer Talk
worldsoccertalk.com/2019/05/04/ake-strikes-late-to-sink-nine-man-spurs/
Ake strikes late to sink nine-man Spurs AFP May 4, 2019 AFP No Comments Bournemouth (United Kingdom) (AFP) - Nine-man Tottenham Hotspur's bid for Champions League football was rocked on Saturday after Nathan Ake's last-gasp winner punished red cards for Son Heung-min and Juan Foyth and condemned Spurs to a 1-0 Premier League defeat at
Ake strikes late to sink nine-man Spurs - Breitbart
LONDON, April 30 (Reuters) - Ajax Amsterdam's Donny van de Beek grabbed an early goal to secure a precious 1-0 victory at Tottenham Hotspur in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final on
Champions League: Van de Beek gives Ajax edge over Tottenham
Why Jurgen Klopp has no option but to risk another early FA Cup exit. Blood Red: James Pearce on the dilemma facing the Reds boss ahead of the trip to Molineux
Early FA Cup exit is not an advantage, insists Liverpool boss
Spurs 'still in a dream' after Man City win, says Pochettino (Reuters) Spurs lost 4-3 in a classic encounter against City in Wednesday's quarter-final second leg, but went through on away goals
Spurs 'still in a dream' after Man City win, says Pochettino
Barcelona on the verge of La Liga title after beating Alaves
MADRID (REUTERS) - Real Madrid have signed Serbia striker Luka Jovic from Eintracht Frankfurt for 60 million euros (S$92 million), television channel Sky Germany said on Thursday (May 16).. Read
Real Madrid agree Luka Jovic signing for 60 million euros
R416, laziness and too much money in the game. Once you have good results people expect a lot out of you and it becomes too much for the women to handle. Tennis players are the most marketable athletes on the planet next to football/soccer players cause they play around the world, once you attain good results the demand is there.
MONT-SAINT-MICHEL AND CHARTRES, by Henry Adams - The Unz Review
Cardiff have expressed their shock after it was reported the pilot in the plane crash that killed Emiliano Sala was not qualified to fly at night. The club said they remained "deeply concerned
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar