Lions face Guam in World Cup qualifying; women play North Korea, Cambodia at Asiad

SINGAPORE – The Lions will kick off their World Cup qualifying campaign in October, with a “minimum target” of progressing from a two-legged, first-round tie against Guam.

The draw for preliminary rounds 1 and 2 of the Asian qualifiers was made in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Thursday. Singapore will play at home on Oct 12 before travelling to Guam five days later.

Based on world rankings, No. 158 Singapore appear to have the edge against their 203rd-ranked opponents. They drew 2-2 at the Jalan Besar Stadium in 2015.

Lion City Sailors striker Shawal Anuar, 32, is looking forward to the clash. He scored in his last two international appearances in draws with Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands, as well as in Wednesday’s 5-1 friendly defeat by Tottenham Hotspur.

He said: “It is important for us to make it into the group stage, because this gives us more international matches against stronger opponents to test ourselves, learn and improve.”

Should they advance, Shawal can look forward to another two matches against Spurs star Son Heung-min, as they will be in Group C with South Korea, China and Thailand. They will play six home and away matches from Nov 16, 2023 to June 11, 2024. The top two will secure a spot in the 2027 Asian Cup and progress to the third round of World Cup qualifiers.

The Lions will play friendlies at home against Tajikistan (Sept 8) and Chinese Taipei (Sept 12) ahead of their qualifying campaign.

Meanwhile, the Asian Games football draws were also conducted in Hangzhou, China on Thursday, with 17 teams divided into five groups. The 2023 Asiad begins on Sept 23, although the football matches will start earlier.

The 131st-ranked Lionesses were drawn in Group C alongside unranked North Korea and No. 118 Cambodia, whom they had lost 1-0 to at the SEA Games in May.

Lionesses coach Karim Bencherifa said: “This is the Asian Games and of course we should aspire to be able to play such strong teams...

“This tournament provides an opportunity for our team comprising both young and seasoned players to pit themselves against such opponents and will also act as an excellent platform in their development.“

Singapore, however, will not be represented in the Under-23 men’s tournament, despite the Singapore National Olympic Council’s initial nod for the Young Lions.

In July, the Football Association of Singapore completed its review of the team’s SEA Games showing and decided to withdraw them. They will focus only on two priority events – the SEA Games and September’s AFC Under-23 Asian Cup qualifiers.

In the latter competition, the Young Lions will play Yemen (Sept 6), Guam (Sept 9) and hosts Vietnam (Sept 12), with the 11 group winners and four best runners-up qualifying for the Qatar tournament from April 15 to May 3, 2024.