Jump to content

Singapore national football team

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 101.78.65.232 (talk) at 10:54, 1 September 2021 (Recent call-ups). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Singapore
Nickname(s)The Lions
AssociationFootball Association of Singapore (FAS)
ConfederationAFC (Asia)
Sub-confederationAFF (Southeast Asia)
Head coachTatsuma Yoshida
CaptainHariss Harun
Most capsDaniel Bennett (145)[1]
Top scorerFandi Ahmad (55)[2]
Home stadiumNational Stadium
Jalan Besar Stadium
FIFA codeSIN
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
CurrentNR (24 October 2024)[3]
Highest72 (August 1993)
Lowest173 (October 2017)
First international
 Singapore 1–0 Republic of China 
(Singapore; 22 May 1948)[4]
Biggest win
 Singapore 11–0 Laos 
(Singapore; 15 January 2007)
Biggest defeat
 Myanmar 9–0 Singapore 
(Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; 9 November 1969)
Asian Cup
Appearances1 (first in 1984)
Best resultGroup stage (1984)
AFF Championship
Appearances12 (first in 1996)
Best resultChampions (1998, 2004, 2007, 2012)

The Singapore national football team represents the Republic of Singapore in senior men's international football and is organised by the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), the governing body of football in Singapore.

The most significant successes of the team have come in the regional AFF Championship, which Singapore has won four times in 1998, 2004–05, 2007, and 2012. Singapore is the first team to achieve this feat and the only team to win in all the finals they played. In 1998, Singapore beat Vietnam 1–0 in the final to capture the country's first major international football title. In the 2004–05 competition, Singapore defeated Indonesia in a two-leg final 5–2 on aggregate. Singapore retained the trophy in 2007, beating Thailand 3–2 on aggregate in the final. In 2012, Singapore won the trophy a record 4th time, again defeating three-time champions Thailand 3–2 on aggregate in the final.

In the 2007 AFC Asian Cup qualification, Singapore became the only team to beat Iraq where Iraq were en route to their Asian Cup winning campaign. Singapore also drew with China 0–0 and 1–1 at home in 2006 and 2009 respectively. In March 2008, Australia also failed to beat Singapore when the game ended in a goalless draw.

In January 2007, Singapore achieved a national record 11–0 win against Laos in the 2007 AFF Championship.[6] Mohd Noh Alam Shah scored 7 goals in the match.[6]

In the FIFA World Rankings, Singapore's highest standing was in the first release of the figures, in August 1993, at 73rd.[7] Singapore was the Asian Football Confederation's 'Mover of the Year' in 2005.

Singapore's main rivals on the international stage are their geographical neighbours, Malaysia and Indonesia, and past matches between these two teams have produced much drama. Over the years, Singapore has included several naturalised citizens in its team such as Fahrudin Mustafić from Yugoslavia, Daniel Bennett from England, Shi Jiayi and Qiu Li from China. Singapore is currently the 157th-ranked team in the world as of September 2020.

History

1892–1994

In 1892, the Singapore Amateur Football Association applied to become a registered society. The HMS Malaya Cup (which was later known as the Malaysia Cup) was launched in 1921 by officers of a British battleship in Malaya, and Singapore was one of the six teams that took part in the inaugural year, and won the event. While the representative side in the Malaysia Cup and the Malaysian League was not the national team per se – this team included some foreign players – many Singapore football fans viewed the Malaysia Cup side as being the national team, and the team's exploits in the Malaysian competitions generally drew much more attention than Singapore's participation in other international tournaments.[citation needed] They either won or were runners up in the event every year until 1941, after which it was suspended because of World War II.

Overall, Singapore won 24 Malaysia Cup titles and two Malaysian League titles. After winning the Malaysia Cup and league double in 1994, the Football Association of Singapore withdrew from the Malaysian competitions following a dispute with the Football Association of Malaysia over gate receipts. Singapore subsequently launched its own professional league, the S.League, in 1996, and also began to put much more focus on the performance of its national team in international competitions.

At that time, Singapore hosted their first and so far, its only international competition, the 1984 AFC Asian Cup. The team was eliminated from the group stage with four points, a 2–0 win over India and a shocking 0–0 draw to giant Iran.

1995–1999

Singapore won the bronze medal in the 1995 Southeast Asian Games, after losing 0–1 in the semi-finals to the hosts and eventual gold medalists, Thailand. Singapore hosted the 1996 AFF Championship but were eliminated in the group stages.

The national team again reached the semi-finals of the Southeast Asian Games in 1997, losing to Indonesia, and lost to Vietnam 0–1 in the third-place match.

However, in the 1998 edition of the AFF Championship, Singapore's team led by coach Barry Whitbread won the group stage with victories over Malaysia and the Philippines. In the semi-finals, they beat Indonesia and subsequently edged out hosts Vietnam 1–0 in the final. This was the country's first ever international title.

2000–2002

Jan B. Poulsen, who was part of Denmark's backroom staff at the 1998 World Cup, was appointed the Technical Director of the Football Association of Singapore in 1999. Due to poor results by Singapore in the 2000 AFF Championship, coach Vincent Subramaniam was sacked and Poulsen took over as coach in December 2000. Singapore hosted the 2002 AFF Championship, but lost 0–4 to arch-rivals Malaysia in their first game. Before the game, local newspaper The New Paper was encouraging fans to turn up in numbers. After the game, the Lions attributed their heavy defeat to the unexpected large crowd. Singapore went on to win 2–1 over Laos, but a 1–1 draw in the final group game against Thailand was not enough for them to reach the knock-out stages. Poulsen was sacked after the tournament.

2003–2004 (AFF Championship)

Radojko Avramović took over as coach of the flailing and deflated Singapore national football team in July 2003. Singapore started the 2004 AFF Championship as underdogs but a 1–1 draw in their first game against hosts Vietnam, another draw against Indonesia, and wins against Cambodia and Laos saw them qualify for the semi-finals.

Singapore were drawn against Myanmar in the two-legged semi-finals. Singapore took a 4–3 away lead back home for the second leg. In the ill-tempered second leg, three Myanmar players were sent off and a reserve Myanmar goalkeeper even threw a water bottle at defender S. Subramani. Singapore went on to win 4–2 after extra time for an 8–5 aggregate victory.

Singapore then won the first leg of the two-legged final against Indonesia 3–1 in Jakarta, before winning 2–1 (5–2 on aggregate) in the second leg in front of a 55,000 home crowd.

2007 Asian Cup Qualifiers

In 2006, Avramovic then led Singapore into the 2007 Asian Cup qualifiers with a 2–0 victory at home over Iraq, but Singapore failed to build on this victory and then lost away to Palestine. The Singapore team then took on China away in Tianjin and lost to an injury time penalty. China travelled to Singapore for the second meeting and the Singapore defence held out for a 0–0 draw. A subsequent 2–4 loss to Iraq dashed Singapore's hopes of qualifying for the Asian Cup. The Asian Cup qualifying campaign ended with a default 3–0 victory over Palestine, who were unable to fulfil the fixture.

2007 AFF Championship

Singapore hosted the group stages of the 2007 AFF Championship. After a 0–0 draw with Vietnam, Singapore then thrashed Laos 11–0 to record their largest-ever win. In the final group match, Singapore knocked Indonesia out of the tournament in a 2–2 draw. Singapore met Malaysia in the semi-final. The first leg saw a 1–1 draw in Shah Alam, while in the second leg at Singapore's National Stadium, following another 1–1 draw, Singapore beat Malaysia in a penalty shoot-out 5–4, goalkeeper Lionel Lewis saving the final Malaysian spot kick from Mohd Khyril Muhymeen Zambri. In the final against Thailand, Singapore won a controversial first leg at home 2–1, then secured a 1–1 draw in Bangkok thanks to a late strike from Khairul Amri to retain the AFF Championship trophy.[8]

2008 AFF Championship

In the 2008 AFF Championship co-hosted by Indonesia and Thailand, Singapore was drawn in Group A to against Indonesia, Myanmar and Cambodia. Singapore progressed from the group as winners. However, they lost out to eventual winners Vietnam 0–1 on aggregate.

2010 World Cup Qualifiers

Singapore met Palestine in the first round of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifying Tournament. Singapore won the first leg 4–0 away in Doha, and the Palestinians again failed to fulfil the away fixture, so FIFA awarded Singapore a 3–0 win.

Singapore was drawn with Tajikistan in the second round: Singapore won the home match 2–0 and drew the return leg 1–1 on 18 November to progress to the third round of the Asian Qualifying Tournament for the first time, where they were drawn against Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Uzbekistan.

Singapore's group stage campaign began with a loss to Saudi Arabia, but the Lions then beat Lebanon 2–0 at home. Successive losses to Uzbekistan, 3–7 and 0–1, left Singapore with little chance of getting into the next round. Singapore were finally eliminated when they lost 0–2 to the Saudis at home.

FIFA later awarded Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan both a 3–0 win, where they won 2–0 and 1–0 respectively, due to Singapore fielding Qiu Li, who is not eligible to represent Singapore.[9]

Singapore finished third in the group with six points from six games after defeating Lebanon 2–1 in Beirut in their final game. With the elimination, Goal 2010 was ended.[10]

2011 Asian Cup Qualification

For the 2011 AFC Asian Cup qualification, Singapore was drawn in Group E, together with Iran, Thailand and Jordan. Singapore were beaten 0–6 by Iran in the first match, and then defeated Jordan 2–1. In November 2009, Singapore hosted Thailand at the National Stadium and lost 3–1, but won the return fixture 1–0 a few days later, earning Singapore their first victory on Thai soil in 48 years. Singapore next hosted Iran, losing 1–3, and the 1–2 defeat against Jordan which followed ended their hopes of Asian Cup football in 2011. The players reported some teammates were smoking during halftime in the match against Jordan.[citation needed]

2010 AFF Championship

In 2010, Singapore drew with the Philippines 1–1, defeated Myanmar 2–1, then duly lost to Vietnam 0–1 in the knockout stage decider. As a result, the Singapore national football team was knocked out of the group stage in Hanoi. The Lions were criticised for their dismal performances in the AFF Championship, which they won in 1998, 2004, and 2007.

2011–2012

In January 2011, the FAS decided to disband and revamp the national team. Six months later, The Lions were back in action after the dismal performances in 2010. In May 2011, national team coach Raddy Avramovic announced the new 33-strong national provisional squad for the upcoming international friendlies and 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign. The Lions were scheduled to play international friendlies against Maldives on 7 June 2011 and Laos on 18 July 2011.

Few days after releasing the provisional 33-man squad, national team training started in preparation of the match against Maldives. Avramovic led the new-look Lions in a game where Singapore won Maldives 4–0 at the Jalan Besar Stadium, Singapore in a friendly match. (Note. The match was not an 'A' international because unlimited substitutions were allowed.)

After the 4–0 win against Maldives, a closed-door friendly match against Etoile FC (of the S.League) was played at the Jalan Besar Stadium, in which the Lions were triumphant thanks to goals from Aleksandar Duric and Qiu Li. Less than a week later before the World Cup qualifier, a final friendly was played against Chinese Taipei. Singapore won the match 3–2 with goals from Aleksandar Duric, Shi Jiayi and Fazrul Nawaz.

In preparation for the third round of the World Cup Qualifiers, the Lions played a friendly non-'A' match against Thailand before their opening qualifier against China. The friendly finished 0–0.

The Singapore national team took part in the 10th edition of the Sultan of Selangor Cup, usually contested by the Singapore Selection. They beat the Selangor Selection 1–0. This was also Singapore's sixth time winning the Sultan of Selangor Cup. They then took on but was defeated by the Philippines 0–2 in a friendly.

Few months later, Coach Raddy Avramovic announced a new 27-man squad for the national team comprising mostly players from LionsXII.

2014 FIFA World Cup Qualifier (Asian Qualifier)

Singapore received a bye to the second round of 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification in 2011 because of their accession to the third round of the qualifying in the previous World Cup.

Their second round opponents were regional rivals Malaysia, whom they beat 5–3 in the first leg with goals from Aleksandar Duric, Qiu Li, Mustafic Fahrudin and Shi Jiayi. The second leg was held at the National Stadium, Bukit Jalil on 28 July 2011. A 1–1 draw thanks to a key Shi Jiayi goal in the second half was enough to put Singapore through to the 3rd Round of Asian Zone World Cup 2014 Qualifying.

In the preliminary draw in Brazil on 30 July 2011 by the football governing body FIFA, Singapore was drawn into Group A for their Round 3 of the Asian qualifiers with Jordan, Iraq and China.

Singapore kicked off the third round with a 1–2 loss to China in Kunming. They then succumbed to a second defeat, 0–2, against Iraq. The next match was slated to be held at Jalan Besar Stadium, Singapore on 11 October against Jordan which Singapore lost 0–3. A 0–2 defeat to Jordan in Amman killed off the Lions' chances of progress. Singapore ended the year with a 0–4 defeat at home to China PR, their 5th consecutive loss. Iraq then dealt the Singapore team a heavy 1–7 loss in Doha, Qatar, with Singapore bowing out with no wins.

2012 AFF Championship

In 2012, Singapore started their tournament with a 3–0 win over close rivals Malaysia.[12] They then lost 0–1 to Indonesia before winning 4–3 in the knockout stage decider against Laos.[13] to top the group and qualify for the semi-finals.

Against the Philippines in the semi-finals, Singapore won 1–0 on aggregate. The solitary goal from Khairul Amri during the home leg of the semi-finals[14] was enough to set up a meeting with Thailand in the finals.

The Lions won the first leg of the finals 3–1 in Singapore. Despite losing the away leg 0–1, Singapore was able to pick up the 2012 AFF Championship, their fourth championship. Singapore holds the record for the highest number of AFF Championship titles.[15] Raddy Avramovic ended his tenure as Singapore coach after the tournament.

2015 Asian Cup Qualification

For the 2015 AFC Asian Cup qualification, Singapore was drawn in Group A, together with Iran, Thailand and Jordan. Singapore were beaten 0–4 by Jordan in the first match, and then loss to Jordan with a scoreline of 0–2. In October 2013, Singapore hosted Syria at the Jalan Besar Stadium and with their first win of the campaign with a 2–1 victory thanks to Gabriel Quak's late winner which was also his first international goal. But a month later, Syria won Singapore in the return fixture 0–4. Singapore next hosted Jordan, losing 1–3, and the 1–3 defeat against Oman which followed ended their hopes of Asian Cup football in 2015.

2013–2014

The FAS announced on 15 May 2013 that they had appointed German Bernd Stange as the new head coach of the national team.[16]

On 27 May 2013, Stange announced his choice of 23 players for the friendlies against Myanmar and Laos on 4 June 2013 and 7 June 2013 respectively. The squad featured several new players who were called up to the national squad for the first time, including 17-year-old Adam Swandi. LionsXII midfielders Gabriel Quak and Faris Ramli and Tanjong Pagar United's winger Hafiz Nor also received their first national call-ups.[17]

Veteran forward Indra Sahdan was also recalled to the national team. He took the captain's armband on 4 June 2013 for coach Stange's first game against Myanmar which Singapore won 2–0.[18] He also scored the first goal in the second friendly match against Laos, which saw Singapore with a 5–2 victory.[19]

Following the two wins, Singapore's FIFA World Rankings rose nine places to 156 in July 2013.[7]

Stange registered his first international competition win on 15 October 2013 against Syria.

Stange had been trying to inculcate the one-touch, quick-tempo style of play for into the Singapore team, and gear the team up for the 2014 AFF Championship and try to retain the AFF Championship.

2014 AFF Championship

The Lions entered the 2014 AFF Championship as the defending champions trying to defend the cup on home soil, but their title defence was spoiled with a 1–2 defeat over Thailand, which they also faced back in 2012. Then, they beat Myanmar 4–2 before bowing out after suffering a 1–3 defeat to rivals Malaysia. The Lions finished with 3 points and 3rd in Group B, and are the first team in the history of the AFF Championship to bow out from the group stage as the defending champions.

2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifier (2019 AFC Asian Cup Qualifier)

The Lions kick started their campaign with an away game against Cambodia on 11 June 2015 which ended 4–0 in favour of Singapore.[20] Following which, they travelled to Saitama Stadium in Japan where they held the hosts to a goalless draw.[21] However, they were defeated by Syria 0–1, at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Muscat, Oman, marking their first loss in the group stages of the tournament.[22] The Lions then beat Afghanistan by a scoreline of 1–0 and their 2nd consecutive win against Cambodia, winning the game 2–1. However, the winning streak ended when they faced Japan at home, and were defeated 0–3. They then went on to face Syria, which was a tight game. Khribin of Syria scored on the 20th minute and were 0-1 up. Safuwan of Singapore scored a late equaliser on the 89th minute but Singapore could not hold on to the draw which ended Khribin again scoring on the 3rd minute of added time after the 90th minute, this resulted in a 1–2 loss to Singapore. Singapore played their final game against Afghanistan and were defeated 1–2. Singapore finished in third place in the table with a total points of 10.

2016

In April 2016, a month after the match against Afghanistan, the FAS announced that Bernd Stange contract would not be renewed and he left the Singapore national football team.[23] After a few months of Stange's departure, FAS announced the new caretaker coach was to be then Tampines Rovers head coach V. Sundramoorthy.[24]

Sundram's first major tournament was the 2016 AYA Bank Cup in June where the team won host Myanmar and went on to the finals against Vietnam. In that match, the two teams drew after 90 mins and went on to extra time where Singapore conceded 3 goals to clinch second.

After a few months, Sundram and FAS arranged the long-awaited Causeway Challenge against Singapore's rival, Malaysia. In that match, Singapore created a lot of chances and dominated the game but was unfortunate to end the game with a 0–0 draw.

In 2016, Sundram also called up a few uncapped players like Syazwan Buhari, Khairulhin Khalid, Irfan Fandi, Abdil Qaiyyim, Shawal Anuar, Azhar Sairudin and Amy Recha. Many of which has at least one cap to their name. Although Hami Syahin was not called up for any matches, he was registered in the 40 man provisional squad for the 2016 AFF Championship. Sundram also recalled several players like Daniel Bennett, Mustafic Fahrudin, Zulfadli Zainal and Hafiz Nor. Ridhuan Muhammad was not recalled for any matches but was registered in the 40-man provisional squad for the 2016 AFF Championship. Sundram also gave chances to the two players, Shahfiq Ghani and Shahdan Sulaiman who both just recovered from long-term injuries to prove themselves.

2016 AFF Championship

In 2016, Singapore was grouped with ASEAN giants, Thailand together with Indonesia and Philippines and was grouped in the "Group of Death" as the teams in this group were tough. Singapore then started their tournament with a 0–0 draw over Philippines. They then lost 0–1 to Thailand where Thailand's Sarawut Masuk scored a late winner in the 89th minute. Singapore actually needed at least a draw with Indonesia and Thailand have to beat Philippines to qualify for the semi-finals. It was great news in the first half as Singapore was leading 1–0 but Singapore's defence went to sleep and conceded 2 late goals for Indonesia to qualify for the semi-finals. Singapore ended their 2016 AFF Championship at the bottom of the table.

2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification – Third Round

Singapore started their 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification – Third Round campaign against Bahrain on 28 March 2017. Singapore drew with Bahrain with a score-line of 0–0. In Singapore's next game, they went on to play against Chinese Taipei where they lost 1–2 at home with Singapore's vice-captain Hariss Harun scoring and Xavier Chen and Chen Chao-an scoring for the visitors.

Singapore's head coach V. Sundramoorthy introduced a National Team Day where Mondays are for players who are called up for a short meeting and tactical training session in the pitch. In this call up, Sundram recalled players like Raihan Rahman.[25] Sundram also called up the uncapped Ho Wai Loon as a standby player for matches against Afghanistan and Bahrain. Sundram also called up uncapped Muhaimin Suhaimi for the friendly against Myanmar, the 2019 Asian Cup Qualifiers against Chinese Taipei and the friendly against Argentina.[26] They made history for not winning any match in a year, reaching the lowest FIFA ranking ever of 173rd placing.

Singapore finished bottom of the group with 2 points, losing the final match 1–0 to secure home-and-away losses against Chinese Taipei on 26 March 2018.

Team image

There have been different suppliers for the jerseys, from Admiral, Puma, Umbro, Grand Sport to Tiger. In November 2006, Nike signed a year's deal of kit sponsorship worth SGD1,000,000.

Singapore had initially worn blue shirts and shorts as their home kit. However, in the late 1980s, The Lions adopted the national colours of red and white for their home kit while they kept blue as the colour for the away kit. This tradition stayed on through the 1990s. For the 2007 AFF Championship, the national team's colours reverted to blue as its home kit and white as the other kit. [27]

Before 2006, Singapore had been using the same kit for nearly 5 years, supplied by Tiger who had a tie-in with Diadora. The kit used during the 2007 AFF Championship made its final appearance on 4 February 2007 against Thailand. The next kit was first used on 24 June 2007 against DPR Korea. The jersey has white trims at the edge of the sleeves and around the neck. Unlike most national teams which use the country's footballing association as a logo on the kit, the national flag of Singapore takes up the spot on the left chest instead while a white Nike logo is on the right chest and. This symmetry also applies to the away jersey. The numbering and lettering font and colour is the same as the previous two home jerseys.

On 13 February 2008, a leaked photo from a photo shoot surfaced on the internet showing the unreleased kit showing national captain Indra Sahdan Daud modelling the kit with Hariss Harun. The new kit was officially announced on 20 March 2008, featuring tight-fit jerseys in the two traditional team colours: red for the home games and blue for the away matches. The kit was worn for the first time by the national team in the international friendly against Australia in preparation for the World Cup 2010 qualifier home game against Lebanon on 26 March 2008.[28]

In November 2010, Nike Singapore launched a new football kit for Singapore, specially made for the 2010 AFF Championship. The home kit's design was of half dark red and light red. The away kit features half navy blue and light blue that was once worn by Singapore football team in 1970's era.

Home stadium

From 1932 until the National Stadium was opened in 1973, Jalan Besar Stadium hosted all home games of Singapore's representative sides which participated in the Malaysia Cup. Since then, all of Singapore's home games in the Malaysia Cup and the national team home matches were played at the National Stadium.

However, the National Stadium was slated for demolishment in 2010 to make way for the new Singapore Sports Hub which was completed in 2014. Singapore played Australia in what was planned to be the last game ever to be played at that stadium. However, due to some delays caused by the addition of new plans for the Singapore Sports Hub, the National Stadium continued to host 5 more matches, and it was also the venue for 2 more World Cup 2010 qualifier matches. While the stadium was being rebuilt as part of the new Sports Hub, the Singapore national team played its home games at the Jalan Besar Stadium, sharing it with the LionsXII and the Cubs (U15 and U16 teams).

Since the start of 2004, Singapore has played its home matches in 7 different stadiums all over Singapore.

Singapore national football team home stadiums
Image Stadium Capacity Location Last match
National Stadium 55,000 Kallang v   Uzbekistan
(15 October 2019; 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification)
Jalan Besar Stadium 8,000 Kallang v   Turkmenistan
(5 September 2017; 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification)
Bishan Stadium 3,500 Bishan v   Mongolia
(12 October 2018; Friendly)
Choa Chu Kang Stadium 4,268 Choa Chu Kang v   India
(16 October 2012; Friendly)
Jurong West Stadium 4,200 Jurong West v   Pakistan
(19 November 2012; Friendly)
Jurong East Stadium 2,700 Jurong East v   Brunei
(6 June 2015; Friendly)
Hougang Stadium 3,800 Hougang v   Hong Kong
(9 September 2014; Friendly)
Yishun Stadium 3,400 Yishun v   Cambodia
(17 November 2014; Friendly)

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup record Qualification record
Year Result Position Pld W D* L GF GA Pld W D* L GF GA
Uruguay 1930 to
West Germany 1974
Did not enter Did not enter
Argentina 1978 Did not qualify 4 2 1 1 5 6
Spain 1982 3 0 1 2 1 3
Mexico 1986 4 0 1 3 2 11
Italy 1990 6 2 1 3 12 9
United States 1994 8 5 0 3 12 12
France 1998 4 0 1 3 2 8
South KoreaJapan 2002 6 0 2 4 3 8
Germany 2006 6 1 0 5 3 13
South Africa 2010 10 5 1 4 17 17
Brazil 2014 8 1 1 6 8 24
Russia 2018 8 3 1 4 9 9
Qatar 2022 8 2 1 5 7 22
CanadaMexicoUnited States 2026 To be determined To be determined
Total Best: None 0/22 0 0 0 0 0 0 75 21 11 43 81 142

AFC Asian Cup

Asian Games

Asian Games record
Year Round Pld W D L GF GA
India 1951 Did not enter
Philippines 1954 Group stage 2 0 1 1 2 7
Japan 1958 2 0 0 2 2 4
Indonesia 1962 Did not enter
Thailand 1966 Fourth place 7 2 1 4 11 15
Thailand 1970 to
South Korea 1986
Did not enter
China 1990 Group stage 3 1 0 2 7 13
Japan 1994 Did not enter
Thailand 1998
Since 2002 See Singapore national under-23 football team
Total Best: Fourth place 14 3 2 9 22 39

AFF Championship

AFF Championship record
Year Round Pld W D L GF GA
Singapore 1996 Group stage 4 2 1 1 7 2
Vietnam 1998 Champions 5 4 1 0 9 2
Thailand 2000 Group stage 4 2 0 2 4 2
IndonesiaSingapore 2002 3 1 1 1 3 6
MalaysiaVietnam 2004 Champions 8 6 2 0 23 10
SingaporeThailand 2007 7 2 5 0 18 6
IndonesiaThailand 2008 Semi-finals 5 3 1 1 10 2
IndonesiaVietnam 2010 Group stage 3 1 1 1 3 3
MalaysiaThailand 2012 Champions 7 4 1 2 11 6
SingaporeVietnam 2014 Group stage 3 1 0 2 6 7
MyanmarPhilippines 2016 3 0 1 2 1 3
ASEAN 2018 4 2 0 2 7 5
Total Best: Champions 57 27 15 15 98 52

SEA Games record

Southeast Asian Games record
Year Round Pld W D L GF GA
Thailand 1959 Did not enter
Myanmar 1961
Cambodia 1963 Cancelled
Malaysia 1965 Preliminary round 2 0 0 2 1 6
Thailand 1967 Did not enter
Myanmar 1969
Malaysia 1971 Group stage 2 0 0 2 2 11
Singapore 1973 Fourth place 4 1 2 1 2 4
Thailand 1975 Bronze medalists 3 0 2 1 4 5
Malaysia 1977 Group stage 2 0 0 2 1 7
Indonesia 1979 4 1 1 2 4 8
Philippines 1981 Fourth place 4 1 1 2 5 4
Singapore 1983 Silver medalists 4 3 0 1 12 3
Thailand 1985 4 2 1 1 6 4
Indonesia 1987 Group stage 2 0 2 0 0 0
Malaysia 1989 Silver medalists 4 2 1 1 7 4
Philippines 1991 Bronze medalists 4 2 2 0 4 1
Singapore 1993 5 3 2 0 16 5
Thailand 1995 6 3 2 1 11 5
Indonesia 1997 Fourth place 6 2 2 2 6 6
Brunei 1999 6 3 2 1 8 5
Since 2001 See Singapore national under-23 football team
Total Best: Silver medalists 62 23 20 19 89 78

All-time record against other countries

Below is a list of matches of Singapore's matches against FIFA-recognised teams.[29]

Players

Current squad

The following 23 local based players were selected for the national team training camp in September 2021.[30]

Caps and goals updated as of 11 June 2021, after the match against  Saudi Arabia.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Izwan Mahbud (1990-07-14) 14 July 1990 (age 34) 54 0 Singapore Hougang United
1GK Hassan Sunny (1984-04-02) 2 April 1984 (age 40) 85 0 Singapore Lion City Sailors
1GK Syazwan Buhari (1992-09-22) 22 September 1992 (age 32) 0 0 Singapore Tampines Rovers
1GK Zharfan Rohaizad (1997-02-21) 21 February 1997 (age 27) 0 0 Singapore Tanjong Pagar United

2DF Hafiz Sujad (1990-11-01) 1 November 1990 (age 34) 44 1 Singapore Hougang United
2DF Nazrul Nazari (1991-02-11) 11 February 1991 (age 33) 42 0 Singapore Hougang United
2DF Faritz Abdul Hameed (1990-01-16) 16 January 1990 (age 34) 33 0 Singapore Tanjong Pagar United
2DF Amirul Adli (1996-01-13) 13 January 1996 (age 28) 12 0 Singapore Lion City Sailors
2DF Jacob Mahler (2000-04-20) 20 April 2000 (age 24) 3 1 Singapore Young Lions
2DF Tajeli Salamat (1994-02-07) 7 February 1994 (age 30) 0 0 Singapore Lion City Sailors
2DF Nur Adam Abdullah (2001-04-13) 13 April 2001 (age 23) 0 0 Singapore Lion City Sailors

3MF Hariss Harun (captain) (1990-11-19) 19 November 1990 (age 34) 101 10 Singapore Lion City Sailors
3MF Shahdan Sulaiman (1988-05-09) 9 May 1988 (age 36) 67 4 Singapore Lion City Sailors
3MF Yasir Hanapi (1989-06-21) 21 June 1989 (age 35) 40 1 Singapore Tampines Rovers
3MF Saifullah Akbar (1999-01-31) 31 January 1999 (age 25) 3 0 Singapore Lion City Sailors
3MF Afiq Noor (1993-12-25) 25 December 1993 (age 30) 0 0 Singapore Hougang United
3MF Song Ui-young (1993-11-08) 8 November 1993 (age 31) 0 0 Singapore Lion City Sailors

4FW Faris Ramli (1992-08-24) 24 August 1992 (age 32) 59 9 Singapore Lion City Sailors
4FW Gabriel Quak (1990-12-22) 22 December 1990 (age 33) 36 5 Singapore Lion City Sailors
4FW Shawal Anuar (1991-04-29) 29 April 1991 (age 33) 12 1 Singapore Hougang United
4FW Hafiz Nor (1988-08-22) 22 August 1988 (age 36) 8 1 Singapore Lion City Sailors
4FW Ilhan Fandi (2002-11-08) 8 November 2002 (age 22) 1 0 Singapore Young Lions
4FW Amy Recha (1992-05-13) 13 May 1992 (age 32) 0 0 Singapore Geylang International

Recent call-ups

The following players have also been called up in the last 12 months to the Singapore squad.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Zaiful Nizam (1987-07-24) 24 July 1987 (age 37) 3 0 Singapore Geylang International v.  Saudi Arabia, 11 June 2021
GK Fashah Iskandar (1995-05-06) 6 May 1995 (age 29) 0 0 Singapore Tanjong Pagar United March 2021 centralized training

DF Baihakki Khaizan (1984-01-31) 31 January 1984 (age 40) 142 5 Singapore Tampines Rovers v. Saudi Arabia, 11 June 2021
DF Madhu Mohana (1991-03-06) 6 March 1991 (age 33) 33 0 Singapore Tampines Rovers v. Saudi Arabia, 11 June 2021
DF Irfan Fandi (1997-08-13) 13 August 1997 (age 27) 29 1 Thailand BG Pathum United v. Saudi Arabia, 11 June 2021
DF Zulqarnaen Suzliman (1998-03-29) 29 March 1998 (age 26) 13 0 Singapore Young Lions v. Saudi Arabia, 11 June 2021
DF Shakir Hamzah (1992-10-20) 20 October 1992 (age 32) 53 3 Singapore Tanjong Pagar United v.  Uzbekistan, 7 June 2021 WD
DF Darren Teh (1996-08-19) 19 August 1996 (age 28) 2 0 Singapore Geylang International March 2021 centralized training
DF Lionel Tan (1997-06-05) 5 June 1997 (age 27) 0 0 Singapore Hougang United March 2021 centralized training
DF Ryhan Stewart (2000-02-15) 15 February 2000 (age 24) 0 0 Singapore Young Lions March 2021 centralized training

MF Zulfahmi Arifin (1991-10-05) 5 October 1991 (age 33) 48 1 Thailand Sukhothai F.C. v. Saudi Arabia, 11 June 2021
MF Anumanthan Kumar (1994-07-14) 14 July 1994 (age 30) 21 0 Malaysia Kedah Darul Aman v.  Saudi Arabia, 11 June 2021
MF Hami Syahin (1998-12-16) 16 December 1998 (age 25) 6 0 Singapore Young Lions v. Saudi Arabia, 11 June 2021
MF Idraki Adnan (1999-03-13) 13 March 1999 (age 25) 0 0 Singapore Hougang United v. Saudi Arabia, 11 June 2021
MF Christopher van Huizen (1992-11-28) 28 November 1992 (age 31) 4 0 Singapore Geylang International March 2021 centralized training
MF Farhan Zulkifli (2002-11-10) 10 November 2002 (age 22) 0 0 Singapore Hougang United March 2021 centralized training

FW Hazzuwan Halim (1994-02-02) 2 February 1994 (age 30) 4 0 Singapore Balestier Khalsa v. Saudi Arabia, 11 June 2021
FW Ikhsan Fandi (1999-04-09) 9 April 1999 (age 25) 18 8 Norway Jerv v.  Afghanistan, 29 May 2021 INJ
FW Khairin Nadim (2004-05-08) 8 May 2004 (age 20) 0 0 Singapore Young Lions March 2021 centralized training

Notes:

  • STA Player on standby
  • SUS Player suspended
  • RC Player suspended for yellow or red card accumulation.
  • INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury
  • RET Retired from the national team
  • WD Player withdrew from the squad for non-injury related reasons

Previous squads

Foreign-born player

Results and fixtures

  Win   Draw   Loss

2019

10 October 2019 2022 FWCQ Saudi Arabia  3–0
(FIFA Ranking Points: –5.73)
 Singapore Buraidah, Saudi Arabia
Abdulfattah Asiri 28', 67'
Abdullah Al-Hamdan 61'
Hariss Harun Yellow card 83' Stadium: King Abdullah Sport City Stadium
Attendance: 14,560
Referee: Kim Hee-gon (South Korea)
15 October 2019 2022 FWCQ Singapore  1–3
(FIFA Ranking Points: –6.62)
 Uzbekistan Singapore
Ikhsan Fandi 45+1'
Shawal Anuar Yellow card 30'
Odil Ahmedov 14'
Eldor Shomurodov 51', 90+1'
Jaloliddin Masharipov Yellow card 57'
Stadium: National Stadium
Referee: Shen Yinhao (China)
19 November 2019 2022 FWCQ Yemen  1–2
(FIFA Ranking Points: 13.73)
 Singapore Riffa, Bahrain
18:00 UTC+3 Nasser Al-Gahwashi 85' Report Ikhsan Fandi 19'
Hafiz Nor 52'
Stadium: Bahrain National Stadium
Referee: Minoru Tōjō (Japan)

2021


Current coaching staff

Former coaches

1.^ Earned Malaysian nationality after Malaysia formed on 16 September 1963. Became Singaporean after Singapore separation from Malaysia in 1965.

Performance by coach

The following table provides a summary of the Singapore national team under each coach. Includes both competitive and friendly matches.

Statistics correct as of 7 Jun 2021
Manager Singapore career Pld W D L Win % Achievements
Czech Republic Milouš Kvaček February 1992 – May 1992 0 0 0 0 !
Singapore P. N. Sivaji May 1992 – December 1993 0 0 0 0 ! 1993 Southeast Asian Games – bronze
England Ken Worden January 1994 – March 1994 0 0 0 0 !
England Douglas Moore March 1994 – May 1995 0 0 0 0 !
England Barry Whitbread June 1995 – November 1998 0 0 0 0 ! 1995 Southeast Asian Games – bronze
1998 AFF Championship – champions
Singapore Vincent Subramaniam December 1998 – December 2000 0 0 0 0 !
Denmark Jan Poulsen December 2000 – January 2003 0 0 0 0 !
Serbia Radojko Avramovic[nb 3] July 2003 – December 2012 64 24 13 27 037.5 2004 AFF Championship – champions
2007 AFF Championship – champions
2012 AFF Championship – champions
Singapore V. Sundramoorthy January 2013 – May 2013[nb 4] 1 0 0 1 000.0
Germany Bernd Stange May 2013 – April 2016 32 15 3 14 046.9
Singapore V. Sundramoorthy May 2016 – April 2018 [nb 5] 23 3 5 15 013.0
Singapore Fandi Ahmad May 2018 – Dec 2018 8 5 1 2 062.5
Singapore Nazri Nasir March 2019 – June 2019 2 1 1 0 050.0
Japan Tatsuma Yoshida June 2019 – 12 3 3 6 025.0

Key: P–games played, W–games won, D–games drawn; L–games lost, %–win percentage

Honours

Regional
Champions (4): 1998, 2004, 2007, 2012
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Third place: 2008
Silver Silver medalists (3): 1983, 1985, 1989
Bronze Bronze medalists (4): 1975, 1991, 1993, 1995
Minor Titles
  • AYA Bank Cup
  • Runners-up (1) : 2016
  • AirMarine Cup
  • Runners-up (1) : 2019

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Officially appointed as national coach on 1 January 1994.
  2. ^ Appointed S.League CEO in May 1995.
  3. ^ Avramovic's competitive record – Played 64; Win 24; Draw 13; Loss 27; Win% 37.5[69]
  4. ^ Caretaker for the Asian Cup qualifier against Jordan on 6 February.
  5. ^ Sundram quits as Lions coach after just 3 wins in 23 games.

References

  1. ^ "FIFA Century Club" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 June 2015. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  2. ^ Morrison, Neil. "Fandi Ahmad – Century of International Appearances". RSSSF. Retrieved 30 January 2010.
  3. ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Men's World Ranking". FIFA. 24 October 2024. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  4. ^ "Singapore matches, ratings and points exchanged". World Football Elo Ratings: Singapore. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  5. ^ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 21 November 2024. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  6. ^ a b "Singapore 11–0 Laos: Seventh heaven for Shah". espn.go.com. 15 January 2007. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
  7. ^ a b "FIFA official Men's ranking". Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  8. ^ "Singapore beat Thais to defend ASEAN title". espn.go.com. 4 February 2007. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
  9. ^ Qiu ineligible for Singapore – FIFA, the-AFC.com, 4 December 2008.
  10. ^ hermesauto (1 September 2019). "Football: Lessons to heed from Goal 2010". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  11. ^ FULL MATCH: Final 2nd LEG - Thailand Vs Singapore: AFF Suzuki Cup 2012 on YouTube. (See 07:00 for the player name) Retrieved on 9 February 2018.
  12. ^ "Malaysia 0 Singapore 3". affsuzukicup.com. 25 November 2012. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
  13. ^ "Singapore 4 Laos 3". affsuzukicup.com. 2 December 2012. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
  14. ^ "Singapore 1 Philippines 0". affsuzukicup.com. 12 December 2012. Archived from the original on 9 February 2014. Retrieved 13 December 2012.
  15. ^ "Thailand 0 Singapore 1 (Singapore win 3–2 on aggregate)". affsuzukicup.com. 22 December 2012. Retrieved 22 December 2012.[permanent dead link]
  16. ^ "Bernd Stange unveiled as new Singapore coach". Goal.com Singapore.
  17. ^ "Coach Bernd Stange names his first national squad". Football Association of Singapore. Archived from the original on 23 October 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
  18. ^ "Myanmar vs Singapore Report". Goal.com.
  19. ^ "Football: Singapore beat Laos 5–2 in friendly match". Channel NewsAsia.
  20. ^ "Lions begin World Cup Qualifiers with a bang". Football Association of Singapore. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  21. ^ "FAS Media Information: Singapore remain undefeated following 0-0 draw away to Japan". Football Association of Singapore. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  22. ^ Deepanraj Ganesan (4 September 2015). "Football: Singapore restricted Syria to 1–0 World Cup qualifying win". The Straits Times. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  23. ^ "FAS Thanks Outgoing National Coach". Football Association of Singapore. 15 April 2016. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  24. ^ "FAS appoints V. Sundram Moorthy as caretaker coach". Football Association of Singapore. 27 May 2016. Archived from the original on 23 June 2016. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  25. ^ "Recall to National Team for Raihan". Instagram. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
  26. ^ Deepanraj Ganesan (2 June 2017). "Uncapped Singaporeans in line to take on Messi and mighty Argentina". FourFourTwo. Archived from the original on 9 July 2017. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  27. ^ "Kitbliss - Singapore". www.kitbliss.co.nz. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  28. ^ "Football: National Football Team gets new Nike kit". channelnewsasia.com. 21 March 2008. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
  29. ^ "Fixtures Results".
  30. ^ "Tatsuma names Lions squad for September". Football Association of Singapore. 27 August 2021. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  31. ^ Santokh Singh (20 August 1996). "Veterans Hasnim, Zul and Deva get Tiger call-up". The Straits Times. p. 32.
  32. ^ Joe Dorai (30 August 1996). "Lions drop Devaraj and three others". The Straits Times. p. 58.
  33. ^ "SAFA meet today to confirm Sattar as coach". The Singapore Free Press. 12 July 1960. p. 12.
  34. ^ Salahudin, Firdie (2 January 1963). "Sattar must go, says Soh". The Straits Times. p. 17.
  35. ^ "Soh gets backing of SAFA council". The Straits Times. 12 January 1963. p. 20.
  36. ^ "Harith will coach again". The Straits Times. 9 January 1964. p. 15.
  37. ^ Dorai, Joe (17 February 1965). "Choo: Decision in March". The Straits Times. p. 17.
  38. ^ Dorai, Joe (9 June 1964). "Tengku gives SAFA OK on Choo". The Straits Times. p. 16.
  39. ^ Dorai, Joe (28 December 1965). "Safa axe six national team men and coach". The Straits Times. p. 15.
  40. ^ "Choo is back on coaches panel". The Straits Times. 17 January 1967. p. 17.
  41. ^ "Ex-Forest player gets coach job in Spore". The Straits Times. 13 May 1972. p. 27.
  42. ^ "Walker quits..." The Straits Times. 22 August 1974. p. 25.
  43. ^ Dorai, Joe (10 October 1974). "Ibrahim Awang is acting national coach". The Straits Times. p. 26.
  44. ^ Dorai, Joe (3 September 1976). "Seng Quee is in and three quit". The Straits Times. p. 27.
  45. ^ Dorai, Joe (15 December 1977). "Big FAS shake-up". The Straits Times. p. 35.
  46. ^ Seneviratne, Percy (19 June 1978). "Coach Yap quits". The Straits Times. p. 29.
  47. ^ "Thanks for your time, Jita". Singapore Monitor. 28 June 1984. p. 32.
  48. ^ "Top soccer job splits into two". The Straits Times. 29 June 1984. p. 47.
  49. ^ "Skipper comes back as coach". The Straits Times. 31 December 1986. p. 37.
  50. ^ Dorai, Joe (30 September 1986). "Poh Leong named national coach". The Straits Times. p. 28.
  51. ^ Dorai, Joe (28 December 1988). "Coach undecided over FAS offer". The Straits Times. p. 25.
  52. ^ Dorai, Joe (1 February 1989). "FAS consider four for national coach". The Straits Times. p. 35.
  53. ^ Dorai, Joe (14 February 1989). "Jita says 'yes' to third offer". The Straits Times. p. 31.
  54. ^ Dorai, Joe (30 December 1989). "FAS offer Jita new one-year deal as coach". The Straits Times. p. 27.
  55. ^ Dorai, Joe (20 January 1990). "Jita turns down the FAS' full-time offer". The Straits Times. p. 37.
  56. ^ Dorai, Joe (13 February 1990). "It's Robin and he starts work March 1". The Straits Times. p. 28.
  57. ^ Dorai, Joe (8 February 1992). "Kvacek is Singapore's 'super coach'". The Straits Times. p. 29.
  58. ^ Dorai, Joe (1 May 1992). "Kvacek quits as coach". The Straits Times. p. 39.
  59. ^ Article on Asian.com of 2009
  60. ^ Dorai, Joe (6 May 1992). "Sivaji accepts FAS offer". The Straits Times. p. 30.
  61. ^ Khoo, Peter (18 December 1993). "Worden named national coach". The Straits Times. p. 37.
  62. ^ a b Tay; et al. (31 March 1994). "Worden throws in towel". The Straits Times. p. 31.
  63. ^ "The CEO". The Straits Times. 6 May 1995. p. 37.
  64. ^ S. Murali (6 June 1995). "Whitbread accepts job of national soccer coach". The Straits Times. p. 29.
  65. ^ "Resignation: Whitbread calls it quits". The Straits Times. 17 November 1998. p. 1.
  66. ^ Tay, Cheng Khoon (20 December 1998). "17-year wait finally pays off". The Straits Times. p. 45.
  67. ^ Wong, Gerard (2 December 2000). "Poulsen takes over the hot seat". The Straits Times. p. 1.
  68. ^ Lim, Marc (3 January 2003). "FAS decides Poulsen to go as Lions coach". The Straits Times. p. 10.
  69. ^ a b "Football: Raddy Avramovic steps down as Singapore head coach". RedSports.sg. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  70. ^ Lim, Marc (2 July 2003). "Raddy to assume soccer's hot seat". The Straits Times. p. 8.
  71. ^ "FAS appoints caretaker national team coach". FAS. Archived from the original on 18 April 2013. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  72. ^ "FAS Appoints Bernd Stange as New National Coach". FAS. Archived from the original on 26 April 2014. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  73. ^ "FAS appoints Sundram as national team coach on 1 year deal". TODAY. Retrieved 17 May 2016.