Fandi brothers set to miss Mitsubishi Electric Cup as Lions hunt for hitmen

Singapore will face a tough challenge in the upcoming Asean Mitsubishi Electric Cup (ME Cup) from Dec 8 to Jan 5, as they will be without two key sharpshooters in their lineup.

They have only two international friendlies left – against Myanmar on Nov 14 and Chinese Taipei four days later – to find a solution to the likely absence of the Fandi brothers, Ikhsan and Ilhan, during the biennial tournament.

The striking pair, who play for Thai side BG Pathum United, are not in the current Lions squad as overseas players who have not confirmed their release for the biennial tournament – also known as the Asean Football Federation (AFF) Championship – were not called up.

The forwards in the 26-man squad are BG Tampines Rovers’ Taufik Suparno and Faris Ramli and the Lion City Sailors’ Abdul Rasaq Akeem and Shawal Anuar.

Senior defender Safuwan Baharudin, who is one of only four players in this squad to have reached double figures in goals for the national team – alongside Hariss Harun (11), Faris (13) and Shawal (11) – admitted that there is a “huge hole” to fill up front, especially as the 1.84m Ikhsan and 1.83m Ilhan are also aerial threats.

Safuwan, 33, who has 13 goals for the Lions, said: “Back then in my (earlier days with the national team), we had goals from Noh Alam Shah, Indra Sahdan, Shi Jiayi, Qiu Li. We had players that could score.

“For now, if you ask anybody (who can get the goals), they will say Ikhsan and Ilhan. The other boys have to really step up.”

Ikhsan, 25, has 18 goals in 38 appearances for the Lions while Ilhan, 22, has bulged the net twice in eight starts for Singapore, but showed his striking prowess when he helped Albirex Niigata win the Singapore Premier League in 2022 with 18 goals in 24 games.

Shawal looks the most likely option up front and even though the 33-year-old previously admitted that he prefers to play as a winger, he is their most in-form goal poacher.

With 11 goals and 10 assists in 17 matches, he is the top local goalscorer and assist maker in this season’s Singapore Premier League (SPL). He also has three goals and an assist in four Asian Champions League Two matches.

Faris, also a winger by trade, is the next likely option, with the 32-year-old having scored twice in the Lions’ last four international matches.

But Rasaq, who is gunning for his first cap, and Taufik, who is eyeing his first goal for the Lions, are determined to prove their worth too if given the opportunity.

Rasaq, who has two goals in four SPL matches after a lengthy injury lay-off, described himself as a forward who can provide a lot of energy “because I like to run to help the teammates and I can also hold up the ball for for the team”.