Football
ESPN staff 9y

Four foreign imports in Singapore Selection Barclays Asia Trophy squad

Four foreign players from the S.League have been picked in the Singapore Selection squad for this month's Barclays Asia Trophy on home soil.

A Singapore XI will face Arsenal on July 14 with the winners facing either Everton or Stoke at the National Stadium at Kallang four days later.

The four foreign players are Japanese defender Kento Fukuda (Geylang International), French defender Sirina Camara (Home United FC), Brazilian attacking midfielder Rodrigo Tosi (Tampines Rovers) and Argentine striker Nicholas Velez (Warriors FC).

"They will add skills and steel to our team," said head coach V. Sundramoorthy. "I have been watching them and they are among the best performers in the S.League this season. They all bring good qualities to help our local players."

The Singapore squad, captained by Shahril Ishak, includes goalkeeper Izwan Mahbud, who produced a heroic performance as the national team held Japan to a 0-0 draw in Saitama last month. He pulled off 18 saves against the likes of Shinji Kagawa, Keisuke Honda and Shinji Okazaki.

Facing up to Premier League forwards like Olivier Giroud, Theo Walcott and Peter Crouch could prove to be an even bigger challenge for Izwan.

He said: "I am excited about taking on the world-class strikers from these Premier League clubs, and my backline and I will do our best to keep them at bay. Having a stadium packed with Singapore fans cheering us on and hearing the Kallang Roar will definitely make us raise our game."

The lineup includes 12 players from the Malaysia FA Cup-winning LionsXII squad -- including Izwan, forwards Khairul Amri and Faris Ramli and utility player Safuwan Baharudin.

Singapore Selection squad: Izwan Mahbud, Zaiful Nizam (Goalkeepers), Ismadi Mukhtar, Nazrul Nazari, Baihakki Khaizan, Madhu Mohana, Safuwan Baharudin, Kento Fukuda, Shaiful Esah, Hafiz Sujad, Shakir Hamzah, Izzdin Shafique, Sirina Camara (defenders), Shahril Ishak, Yasir Hanapi, Zulfahmi Arifin, Gabriel Quak, Faris Ramli, Shahdan Sulaiman (midfielders), Nicholas Velez, Khairul Amri, Fazrul Nawaz, Rodrigo Tosi (forwards).

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