UK
PREVIEW-Soccer-Singapore chasing big win after first round
farce
Thu Nov 8, 2007 9:00am GMT
By Martin Petty
BANGKOK, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Singapore are going all out for victory
at home to Tajikistan on Friday when they face their first real
test of their 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign following a
farcical first round triumph over Palestine.
The three-times Southeast Asian champions, whose opponents failed
to show up for their last match, are hoping to take a sizable
advantage into the second leg to secure a berth in the group stages
of regional qualifying for the South Africa finals.
Their coach Radojko Avramovic, who was left seething after last
week's unexplained no-show by the Palestinians, said Singapore were
now playing catch-up against a team they know little about.
"Palestine disrupted our preparation in a big way, we needed a
competitive match and we didn't get that," Avramovic told
Reuters.
"So we are preparing for this game seriously. We need the home win
and can't leave it to the second leg."
The Serb said a third-round place would show how much Singapore had
improved since the last campaign, where they lost five of their six
matches.
"It (qualifying) will make us step up to a higher plane and show
how much we've improved," he said.
THIN AIR
Singapore's arch-rivals Thailand have a tricky match away to Yemen,
where the thin air in the ancient highlands city of Sana'a could
pose problems for the visitors.
The team will also be without influential captain Tawan Sripan due
to injury.
Thai coach Charnwit Polcheewin said training this week in Sana'a,
which is over 2,000 metres above sea level, had been a bit of a
struggle.
"I'm worried about the weather... this could affect our players,"
he said. "I watched them train and some had breathing
problems."
One-time qualifiers Indonesia start their World Cup campaign at
home to Syria after being given a first round bye but will be
without injured regulars Ricardo Salampesy and Supardi in
defence.
Coach Ivan Kolev said he would field three players up front but
gave little else away.
"We still have two days to determine our main squad against Syria,"
he told the Jakarta Post.
"I will only field players who are fit and in their best
form."
Hong Kong take on Turkmenistan on Saturday off the back of an 11-3
aggregate thrashing of winless East Timor in the first round.
Turkmenistan coach Rahim Kurbanmamedov has named a full-strength
squad containing only one local-based member, with 18 players
picked mostly from the Azerbaijani and Uzbek leagues.
The four second round winners will join 16 others in the third
round, where they will be split into five groups of four teams,
including top seeds Japan, South Korea, Iran, Saudi Arabia and
newcomers Australia.
The top 11 seeded first round winners moved directly into the third
round. (Editing by John O'Brien)
