SINGAPORE – Barely two weeks after getting his Singapore passport, Kyoga Nakamura received his first call-up on Oct 6 after national football head coach Tsutomu Ogura revealed his 26-man squad for the international friendlies in November.

The Lions will face Myanmar at the National Stadium on Nov 14, before taking on Chinese Taipei four days later at the same venue. The fixtures will serve as the final tune-up for the team before the Dec 8-Jan 5 Asean Football Federation (AFF) Championship, which is now known as the Asean Mitsubishi Electric Cup (ME Cup).

Japan-born midfielder Nakamura, 28, attained his Singaporean citizenship on Oct 25 and is set to make his Lions debut. The BG Tampines Rovers player participated in a familiarisation stint with the team in September and joined them for a 10-day training camp in Japan a month later.

While Nakamura’s addition will be a boost for the Lions, they will be missing the services of Fandi brothers Irfan (Port FC), Ikhsan and Ilhan (BG Pathum), Harhys Stewart (Chiangrai United), and Lion City Sailors midfielder Song Ui-young.

Irfan, Ikhsan and Harhys are recovering from injuries, while Song was not selected for the squad.

In a blow to their campaign, The Straits Times understands it is unlikely that Ikhsan, Ilhan and Harhys will be released by their clubs for the tournament, while Irfan’s participation is not confirmed.

The Football Association of Singapore (FAS) said that it will continue to work closely with the clubs on the players’ availability for the ME Cup, which does not fall under a Fifa international window.

With the final squad to be confirmed only a day before the tournament, for now Ogura’s focus will be on the November friendlies. He has handed recalls to Selangor defender Safuwan Baharudin, BG Tampines’ Irfan Najeeb and Joel Chew, Sailors Lionel Tan, Christopher van Huizen and Shawal Anuar, as well as Hougang fullback Nazrul Nazari.

The two games will be the Lions’ first official matches since their 3-1 World Cup qualifying defeat by Thailand in June and Ogura – who was appointed in Feb – will be aiming for his first win after overseeing three losses and a draw.

Ogura said in a statement: “The November window is about more than just friendly matches, it provides us critical preparation for our ME Cup campaign, giving us an important chance to test our tactics and assess our fitness.

“We are in full preparation mode, and the players are fighting for a place in the ME Cup squad, so I want to see performances that showcase their readiness and desire to play for the flag, the fans as well as the players who are not joining us for this window.”

The Lions kick off their ME Cup campaign against Group A rivals Cambodia at home on Dec 11, followed by Timor-Leste (Dec 14, away), Thailand (Dec 17, home) and Malaysia (Dec 20, away).

While the friendlies and group stage matches will be held at the 55,000-capacity National Stadium, an “alternative venue” will be used if the team reaches the semi-finals or final, said the FAS.

The national sports association noted that the tournament was initially scheduled for Nov 23 to Dec 21, but a “late change in tournament schedule by the AFF... has impacted operational, logistical and scheduling plans”.

The FAS said in a statement that two other major events – concerts by Taiwanese rock band Mayday and another concert – were confirmed for the final week of December and early January before the new Cup dates were announced.

“After being made aware of the new ME Cup dates, venue partner Kallang Alive Sport Management made every effort to deconflict schedules at late notice but were not able to reschedule these major events as lead time is needed for pitch preparation and set-up between events,” added the statement.