SINGAPORE — The journey to the 2018 FIFA World Cup and 2019 Asian Cup finals continues for the Lions tonight, with the Singapore national football team up against Syria in the Group E qualifiers in Muscat, Oman.

World No 155 Singapore may be ranked 38 rungs below Syria (No 117), but national head coach Bernd Stange believes it is possible for his charges to get a good result in their first leg fixture against Syria today.

Stange’s men currently head the group after a strong start to their campaign, which saw them notching a 4-0 win over Cambodia, before holding Japan to a goalless draw.

“We had a brilliant start with four points from two away matches,” said Stange in a pre-match press conference in Oman yesterday.

“In terms of world rankings, Syria is ranked above us. But we are confident about the match tomorrow and we will try to achieve something. A point will be a good result for us. (But) you can never play for a draw and we will try to achieve a result tomorrow.”

Both countries last met two years ago in the Asian Cup qualifiers, with the Republic winning 2-1 at home before losing the away game 4-0.

The Lions will need to be wary of the talented Abdelrazaq Al Hussain and Raja Rafe in attack — both players were key in Syria’s 6-0 thumping of Afghanistan in their opening Group E match in June. Stange is expected to field a line-up comprising veteran player Khairul Amri, with experienced defenders Faris Ramli, Hariss Harun, and Safuwan Baharudin also in the mix.

Stange is well aware they cannot underestimate their Syrian opponents, as he added: “You have to respect the strengths of Syria, which is a good team. Many of their players are playing in a strong league in Iraq.

“We started the rebuilding (of the national team) process two years ago and now this team is more balanced in terms of age. I believe we can qualify for the Asian Cup, which would be a good achievement.”

Vice-captain Hariss added: “Our team is ready. We achieved good results in our first two games and the preparation for tomorrow’s match is going very well. It’s not easy to play the first three qualifying games away, but this is a long qualifying campaign and we will take it one game at a time.”

The winners of each of the eight groups from the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, along with the four best second-placed teams, will progress to the third round and the 2019 Asian Cup. The Republic have never qualified for the Asian Cup finals, except in 1984 when Singapore hosted the event.

While media reports had previously stated that Stange’s contract — which expires at the end of the month — could be extended to March, the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) said in a statement yesterday: “It is not the FAS’s policy to comment on personnel and contractual matters of specific employees, including coaches.

“Like any other organisation, we have in place employment processes and review procedures, which involve the Association and the staff. All such reviews and discussions will be kept confidential. The final decision will first be communicated to the staff directly and in confidence, before we make any announcement.”