Football
Kelvin Leong 7y

Singapore need Azkals result, Teerasil is AFF Cup danger man - Hassan Sunny

While the Thai fans continue to heap praise on the likes of Chanathip Songkrasin, Charyl Chappuis and Sarach Yooyen, Singapore custodian Hassan Sunny is wary of veteran striker Teerasil Dangda as the 2016 AFF Suzuki Cup edges closer.

Thailand are defending champions and will face Singapore, Indonesia and co-hosts Philippines in Group A later this month in Manila.

Kiatisuk Senamuang has put together a new generation of Thai stars, building the team around Chanathip and Sarach.

In attack, former Almeria forward Teerasil is likely to get the nod for Thais, and having gone up against the 32-goal striker numerous times, Hassan still considers him as the main threat while his opposite number Kawin Thamsatchanan will be the man-mountain in goal for the War Elephants.

"As we all know, Thailand are the team to beat in Manila," Hassan told ESPN FC at the Singapore training camp.

"They have many good individual players who can win the game but for me, Teerasil is still the man to pay close attention to.

"I've gone up against him at club and international level and he can be deadly if we focus on the others players like Chanathip and Mongkol [Tossakrai].

"At the back, Kawin is always there to protect the defence and it will be interesting to see how the game pans out.

"Having said that, Singapore must play to our own game plan and we can match them. It is something that requires the team to work together as one."

Hassan, 32, has spent the past two seasons with Army United in the PLT, becoming the first Singaporean to play in Thailand.

While Army have been relegated to Division 1 next season, the Football Association of Thailand's new regulation which stipulates that teams will have an extra Southeast Asian player quota in the 2018 season is set to make the Suzuki Cup a "shop window" for ASEAN players, including the Lions.

Hassan's priority is to take Singapore into the knockout stages of the competition but he is also hoping to see his teammates deliver on the big stage to catch the eye of Thai club scouts in Manila.

"The new Thai rule makes this competition a perfect opportunity for teams to scout for players," he added.

"We [Singapore] definitely have some players who are capable of playing in the Thai league and while the objective is win for Singapore, the players must also grab the chance to impress and maybe get a career abroad.

"This is not going to be easy because Philippines and Indonesia players will also be out to show their abilities too."

Despite the highly anticipated second group game against Thailand, Hassan urged his teammates to focus on the opener against host nation Philippines, where they cannot afford to drop any points if they are to advance.

Singapore will have a final friendly against Cambodia on Sunday before flying out to Manila in midweek.

He said: "Not just Singapore but the other countries know after the draw that this is the 'Group of Death' in Manila.

"We have the number one team in Southeast Asia [Thailand], and Philippines are high in the FIFA rankings for a reason. And then we have Indonesia who are a raring to go after the ban was lifted.

"But this is fine. We are battling hard in training and friendlies to get ourselves ready for the tournament. It doesn't matter what is said [now] because I rather go in as underdogs than to be over confident.

"That first game will see the home fans fill the stadium and Philippines will feel the pressure. We need to get something from that first game because in a tournament like this, I believe that if you start well, you'll end well."

Group A will kick off on Nov. 19 with the Azkals entertaining Singapore while Thailand go heads up against Alfred Riedl's Indonesia.

 

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