SINGAPORE, May 5 — As the head coach of this year’s Singapore Selection side for the Sultan of Selangor (SOS) Cup and one of the most recognisable faces in local football, Fandi Ahmad’s absence from this afternoon’s SOS media conference was glaringly conspicuous.

Instead, it was the team’s assistant coach and ex-Lions star Nazri Nasir who, alongside captain Hariss Harun, faced the media today, on the eve of the 16th edition of the annual exhibition match.

But Fandi’s absence was in no way a slight on the importance of tomorrow’s match at the National Stadium, which sees the Singapore Selection side take on a Selangor Selection side that is made up of players from Malaysian Super League (MSL) outfit PKNS FC.

On the contrary, Nazri revealed that 54-year-old Fandi was unable to attend the media conference as he was busy preparing for his team’s final training session yesterday.

After all, there was just an hour separating the start of the media conference at the Concorde Hotel Singapore and the team’s training at the National Stadium, and it was clear that Fandi was not leaving anything to chance in his quest to guide the Singapore Selection towards retaining the cup.

The Singapore Selection won the trophy on penalties last year at the Shah Alam Stadium.

Apologising for Fandi’s no-show, Nazri said: "Unfortunately, he (Fandi) couldn’t be here today because he is currently preparing for our training session.

"But this shows you how focused he is and how much he wants to do well in this game.”

The significance of tomorrow’s match was also not lost on Selangor Selection’s head coach E Elavarasan, as he said: "This is an important game for the state of Selangor because this (SOS Cup) is initiated by the Sultan, and so we want to make sure we want to do him proud.”

The Singapore Selection side — which comprise the best players in the S.League this season — will, however, be without Home United star and current league top scorer Stipe Plazibat, who was forced to withdraw from the team due to a calf injury.

Warriors FC forward Jordan Webb, who has six goals to his name this season, has been drafted into Fandi’s 20-man squad as his replacement.

Despite being without Plazibat, Nazri believes that the Singapore Selection side still boasts enough quality in their ranks to secure a victory tomorrow.

"Looking at the squad, we have a very nice blend of both young and senior players,” said the former Singapore captain.

"For example, we have players like Shahril (Ishak) in the team who brings with him a wealth of experience, while we also have someone like Irfan (Fandi), who may be young but has already proven his worth by featuring in several national team games already.

"This year, we can also count on someone like Hariss, whose presence alone will motivate the other players in the team.

"So we are confident, and believe that this will be an interesting game between two good teams.”

Elavarasan, who is the head coach of PKNS, agreed, and predicted an exciting tie between the two teams tomorrow.

After all, the Selangor Selection side includes established stars such as Liberian striker Patrick Wleh and veteran Malaysian forward Safee Sali.

"I think it’ll be an exciting match up… the Singapore side have very good players, and we are all determined to give them a good challenge,” said Elavarasan.

"It’s a great honour to be part of this and we’re all eager to show what we’ve got and do our best, especially as our fans have travelled down from Selangor for this game.”

With the SOS Cup being held in Singapore for the first time since 2009, national midfielder Hariss says there is an added impetus for the Singapore side to produce an entertaining display for the fans and give them something to cheer about tomorrow.

"We’ve got the cream of the crop from the S.League, while the Selangor selection also brought along their best available players, so it’s definitely going to be a high level and high intensity game,” said Hariss, who is currently on loan at Home United.

"This game holds a lot of history for both teams, and we all want to get the win. But for us, with the SOS Cup coming back here after so many years, we feel that we (have a duty) as the home team to give something for our fans to cheer about.

"But the team is in good spirits, we’re confident of putting in a good performance and all of us are looking forward to the game tomorrow.”

Sultan of Selangor’s Cup 2017

Date: Saturday (May 6)

Venue: National Stadium, Singapore Sports Hub

Matches:

4.45pm: Singapore Sports School v Selangor Combined Schools

6.30pm: Singapore Veterans v Selangor Veterans

7.45pm: Singapore Selection v Selangor Selection — TODAY

*Ticket prices (excluding ticketing fees): S$8/RM25 (adults), S$3 (concession). Go to www.sportshubtix.com or visit the SportsHub Box Office or any SingPost outlet.