Singapore face Iraq in Asian Cup qualifier opening match
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Salman seeks another Singapore lift
Feb 21, 2006
Colin Pereira/FootballAsia.com
Iraq technical director Akram Salman
SINGAPORE – Iraq technical director Akram Salman is hoping that Singapore will once again prove a springboard to success for his side as they prepare to take on the Lions in their opening match of the AFC Asian Cup 2007 qualifiers on Wednesday.
On the last occasion that Salman coached an Iraq side in a competitive match in Singapore in 1984, they captured the Merlion Cup, beating a South Korean selection in the final of the eight-team competition.
For Salman, it proved to be the catalyst for one of IraqÂ’s greatest football achievements - qualification for the 1986 FIFA World Cup.
“I have good memories of Singapore because we won the Merlion Cup here in 1984,” said the Iraq coach.
“For us it was the first step in our qualification for the 1986 World Cup as it provided a good start in our build-up to the competition.
“Our ambition is to repeat that success for Iraqi football and hopefully Singapore will once again prove to be the starting point for us.”
Salman, who took charge of the team in early 2005 following the departure of former AFC Coach of the Year Adnan Hamd and led the team to the gold medal at DecemberÂ’s West Asian Games, has faced a number of challenges in getting his side ready for the Asian Cup qualifiers.
“The situation in Iraq has made things very difficult for us and we have a lot of difficulty getting our players ready to play in this competition especially with many of them playing football outside Iraq.
“Our team is usually different from match to match and our line-up has been quite unstable.
“But we will be trying to claim the three points on Wednesday and put ourselves in a good position before our forthcoming matches against China and Palestine.”
Meanwhile Singapore coach Radojko Avramovic is looking forward to seeing how the South East Asian champions measure up against one of the continentÂ’s top teams.
“They want three points and we want three points so we shall see what happens,” said the Serbo-Montenegrin.
“It is a good test for us to see have far we have progressed in the past year. We have had good preparation and we have worked well so now we will find out how we can fare against a team with many good players.
“Overall this is a very interesting group with China, the champions of East Asia, Iraq, winners of the West Asian Games, Singapore, the South East Asian champions, and Palestine, who beat a very good Bahrain side 2-0 last weekend.”
The match at the National Stadium in Singapore kicks off at 19:30 hours local time. -
whats the result?
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Tomorrow evening.Originally posted by R3SsH|n:whats the result? -
prediction: sg 0-3 iraq
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maybe more than 3Originally posted by BrUtUs:prediction: sg 0-3 iraq
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2-1 Singapore.
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sg 0 - 5 iraq
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Eman mohammad will score a hattrick against us, like he nearly did against portugal in the olympics
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sg 2 iraq 1
=x -
How much are you all betting for this match?
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whats the result?
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sg won
sg 2:0 iraq -
Fantastic result!
The iraqis are a decent team technically and physically and for our lions to pull off such a scoreline is simply ecstatic!
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unbelievable!!!
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Bookies are crying and running.
Maybe another murder soon. -
"Damn!" said the police.Originally posted by phua joo kang:Bookies are crying and running.
Maybe another murder soon. -
Let's be realistic and celebrate only after all 6 matches have been played.
We don't want a situation whereby Singapore wins its first match only to lose its remaining 5.
And yes, I believe that has happened before. -
for once, Charlize speaks sense.Originally posted by charlize:Let's be realistic and celebrate only after all 6 matches have been played.
We don't want a situation whereby Singapore wins its first match only to lose its remaining 5.
And yes, I believe that has happened before.
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No no no.Originally posted by LazerLordz:for once, Charlize speaks sense.
I speak English. Eng - Lish. -
true... tell tat to the local papers... they make it like we can beat everyone...Originally posted by charlize:Let's be realistic and celebrate only after all 6 matches have been played.
We don't want a situation whereby Singapore wins its first match only to lose its remaining 5.
And yes, I believe that has happened before. -
I won't be surprised they lose to Palestine by one goal and then get hammered by China in the next match.Originally posted by BrUtUs:true... tell tat to the local papers... they make it like we can beat everyone...
And then the papers will go, "what went wrong Singapore?" -
I'm thinking of watching the China match when they play at Kallang.Originally posted by charlize:I won't be surprised they lose to Palestine by one goal and then get hammered by China in the next match.
And then the papers will go, "what went wrong Singapore?" -
CB, really lose to Palestine by one goal.
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tmd. u quite accurate. now lets see china gotta hammers sg soon.Originally posted by charlize:CB, really lose to Palestine by one goal. -
If I predict 3-0 scoreline and it becomes true, will the mata come look for me?