Lionesses eager to get delayed Asian Cup qualifying campaign under way

SINGAPORE – After a period of uncertainty due to the conflict in the Middle East, the national women’s football team are eager to return to action as they kick off their 2026 Women’s Asian Cup qualifying campaign against Bhutan on July 7.

Originally slated to take place from June 23 to July 5 in Jordan’s capital Amman, the escalation of the Iran-Israel conflict prompted the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to

delay and relocate the competition

just days before it was set to begin.

The Group A matches were initially moved to Qatar, before a United States-brokered ceasefire on June 24 allowed the games to return to their original location – the King Abdullah II Stadium in Amman – from July 7 to 19.

National head coach Karim Bencherifa admitted the two-week postponement disrupted world No. 139 Singapore’s plans, as preparations had been timed to ensure players were in peak physical form for the original schedule.

But the Moroccan said safety was also a major concern and, now that it has been addressed, his players are ready to compete.

He said: “We’re excited to finally go and play the games, the players as well. The momentum could have been better if we would have gone (earlier) – the momentum was so nice when we played that game (an international friendly) against Hong Kong on (June) 15th and we were flying a few days later.

“It was good momentum, we had the full squad. Now we’re picking up again.”

The Lionesses’ opening match against world No. 171 Bhutan will be followed by fixtures against Iran (68), Jordan (75) and Lebanon (130).

Only the group winners will progress to the Women’s Asian Cup, which will be staged in Australia in March 2026.

Although most of the squad were retained despite the tournament taking place outside the Fifa international window, there are some notable absences due to other circumstances.

Forward Danelle Tan will miss out due to mandatory administrative requirements related to her transfer to a new club, while midfielder Venetia Lim, who plays in Australia for Eltham Redbacks in the Victoria state’s second-tier Premier League Women’s, is sidelined with a left knee tendon injury during the friendly against Hong Kong three weeks ago.

Forward Sharifah Nur Amanina will also miss the tournament to attend to a family illness.

Geylang International defender Elyssa Qistina, 19, has been called up as a replacement and will hope to make her senior debut at the tournament.

Bencherifa acknowledged that the absence of Tan and Lim has added to the challenge, but said tactical adjustments have been made and stressed his belief in his squad.

He said: “There are always solutions. Danelle and Venetia are both our best players, but we had to do some tactical adjustments based on positions. You may even be surprised to see some players who are out of position to cover all this, but I have full faith in the players who are going.”

He also praised the team’s commitment, highlighting that many players made significant sacrifices, with some having to change personal plans, including cancelling trips and flights, to remain part of the team.

Forward Farhanah Ruhaizat, who works in operations at ActiveSG, said she was fortunate to have her employer’s support, allowing her to reschedule her leave.

The last-minute changes may have caused some disruption, but were not unexpected for Farhanah and her teammates, who kept themselves updated of the situation in the Middle East through social media.

The 26-year-old said: “On the bright side, we get to spend more time training together and preparing for it.

“It was quite chill, we didn’t really panic so much. We are glad that we have the time to train because it was not like it was over... we knew that it was going to happen.”

Forward Chloe Koh, an Unleash The Roar! scholarship recipient at IMG Academy in the US, now faces less time between this tournament and the Under-20 Women’s Asian Cup qualifiers in Hanoi from Aug 2 to 10.

But the 18-year-old remains unfazed by the compressed schedule, saying: “I was looking forward to a break between the two, but now they’re back to back, but I’ve just taken it in my stride.”

For the players, the opportunity to finally step onto the pitch and test themselves against new opponents is one they have waited for.

Farhanah said: “I’m just excited to know that we are going to compete against teams that we’ve never competed before.

“It’s kind of interesting and exciting to see where we stand against these countries and we’re excited to play.”