The first match to be played for the World Cup 3rd round qualifiers is between China and Singapore this Friday 2nd September. The match will be played in high altitude Kunming, some 1,800 ft abve sea-level. The Singapore team arrived last Thursday and have given themselves 8 full days to acclimatise to the cold high altitude (ie. lower levels of oxygen) pitch.
Juan Antonio Camarro's first match pitches the Chinese at 69th spot in Fifa rankings versus Singapore at 129th and on paper, the Chinese look too strong. However, don't forget Raddy Aramovich is an 'old fox' at 61 having managed the Singapore team for 7 years now. He knows the 'heartbeart' of the team, the mood of the players and most importantly, the 'sengmangat' or spirit. Many of our players are Muslim, and being away from their families and friends this Hari Raya celebrations is a major sacrifice. So, all the more they want to win with their heads and most importantly, their hearts. Additionally, they have 2 ex-Chinese nationals who are out to prove something against their motherland, Shi Jia Yi and Qiu Li are 2 members who have the opportunity to show their ex-countrymen what they lost when they were offered Singapore citizenship.
My belief, is that if Singapore can at least hold or even win the game, the unity amongst the local fans will be even more strong, as we accept these players as 'our own'. So, much is at stake here.
Can they do it ? My prediction is that Singapore is going to upset the formbook and win 1 - 0.
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