The Fiji national men’s team are ready to take on Singapore this evening in their second international friendly in this current FIFA window after a 1-1 draw with Solomon Islands at ANZ Stadium in Suva last week.
Fiji coach Christophe Gamel and his squad of 20 departed on 8 September for Singapore and have already been through a couple of training sessions since landing.
Gamel, who left behind Fiji U-19 defender Mohammed Ramzan and Nadi player Ame Votoniu from the 22-player squad which met Solomon Islands, believes Singapore will pose a challenge for his side.
“The boys need to work on consistency and be mentally ready to perform,” he said.
“We are expecting a really tough game against Singapore since they are ranked higher than Fiji so I could say I’m a bit worried.”
The first few training sessions since arrival haven’t been up to the standard which Gamel expected which he said could be down to the long trip.
“We had this problem in Philippines and Indonesia,” Gamel said.
“They are not at the level they should be and the training today was catastrophic. The players were totally unfocused and I hope that they will snap out of it because it is a big game tomorrow.”
Singapore are themselves fresh off a draw as well after being held 1-1 by Mauritius, however interim coach Fandi Ahmad believes the squad can threaten their visitors, and Gamel agrees.
“Fiji has never played Singapore and this match is very important,” he said.
“I am impressed with their game and we will face difficulties there.”