Engene (L) looked impressive in the South East Asian Championships.

Singapore will be more impressive at the Thanh Nien-sponsored U21 International Football Tournament in Binh Duong in October, their coach said after his team’s early bow out at a recent regional tournament in HCMC.

Despite the defeat, both Moin and Singapore’s U19 team manager Jita Singh were not disappointed. In fact, they were pretty pleased with the young players.

Jita said, “We participated in this U19 Southeast Asian Championship without some of our favorites because some are busy with their school work while the others from the Young Lions club are playing in S-League.

“Though we can’t advance to the semis as expected, we are not disappointed. We had a small letdown in the 1-1 draw with Australia.

“If we hadn’t had striker Shakir sent off, we would have had a better chance to go farther in the competition.

“We are pleased with the players’ high spirits in the three matches of the group stage. Our players have made certain improvements. They were on equal terms with and at times put great pressure on Australia; and they conceded a solitary goal in the clash against the powerhouse Thailand.

Some Singaporean players proved they are competent like Khairul who scored the equalizer against Australia and others like Bin Zainal, Syafiq or Fariss showed they are hopefuls for the Singaporean football future, Jita said.

Meanwhile Salim said, “I’m very proud of our U19 players now. They are tall and strong. They were not inferior to the Socceroos while they are superior to some Thai players.

“They have shown how good they are. This U19 Southeast Asian Championship was certainly a good test for my players. It was a good preparation for them to compete in the U19 Asian qualifying round in November.

“If everything goes as planned, the U19s will be the key players to play in Thanh Nien-sponsored U21 International Football Tournament in October.

“Therefore after this competition, we will strengthen this U19 squad by adding some U20 players who played exceptionally in last year’s U21 International Football Tournament to take part in this year’s tourney.”

Commenting on the Thanh Niensponsored U21 International Football Tournament, Salim said the Football Association of Singapore appreciates it for its competitiveness. It is also a good test for young players in the region.

That was the reason Singapore was pleased to be invited by Vietnam Football Federation and Thanh Nien, to compete over the past three years, he said.

Salim said, “Last year, Singapore came in fourth and this year the tournament is set to welcome strong rivals from Iran, China and Thailand apart from the host Vietnam.

“We have set a goal to do better than last year. I’m sure the Singaporean young players will be hard to beat at the tournament.”

Reported by Dang Khoa