Lions make second round of World Cup qualifiers after 3-1 aggregate win over Guam

SINGAPORE – If the aim was to avoid an embarrassing first-round exit in their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign, then it was mission accomplished for the Lions, who completed a 3-1 aggregate victory over world No. 201 Guam on Tuesday.

At Dededo’s modest 5,000-seater GFA National Training Centre, they eked out a 1-0 second-leg win via substitute Shawal Anuar’s 81st-minute goal to progress to the next round, which doubles up as Asian Cup qualifiers.

But there remains a lot of work to be done if 157th-ranked Singapore are to give a respectable account of themselves against the “big boys”.

They start their Group C campaign with a trip to world No. 26 South Korea on Nov 16. China (80th) and South-east Asian giants Thailand (112th) are the other teams in the group.

Shawal, 32, said: “I missed five or six chances in the first leg and I was extra motivated in this second leg to get a goal. I’m happy I got the chance to play and score.

“We need to put in extra work in every aspect and get our tactics right against the big boys. I will give everything to try and score or create chances for my team to get positive results in the next round.”

The Lions struggled to break down Guam – a bunch of semi-pros, amateurs and university students from a population of 170,000 – in front of 1,012 spectators.

Despite just a five-day turnaround and a 16-hour journey to Guam, Singapore coach Takayuki Nishigaya made just one switch in his 3-5-2 system: Ilhan Fandi starting in place of Shawal, while the hosts made three changes.

Perhaps one positive was how the Lions withstood the challenging conditions, which included a 2.45pm kick-off and opponents who were keen to persist with not just counter-attacks and set pieces on an artificial pitch, but also rough-house tactics, with Dane Agustin sent off in added time.

Under the hot sun, the Lions were up for the physical test and kept their cool.

But, like the first leg at the National Stadium last Thursday when they won 2-1, Singapore were wasteful.

The introduction of Shawal and Iqbal Hussain added more fluidity as the duo combined for the winner, which was Shawal’s 10th international goal. But overall, the delivery from wide positions, and passes and shots in the final third lacked quality.

At the other end, they were lucky not to be penalised when Lionel Tan got entangled with Marcus Lopez in their box early on, and had goalkeeper Hassan Sunny to thank for denying Lopez from close range before half-time. Zulqarnaen Suzliman also cleared off the line with seven minutes to go.

Ultimately, the deficiencies were not punished and their World Cup and Asian Cup hopes live on, but the mighty Koreans – coached by Jurgen Klinsmann and captained by Son Heung-min – may not be so kind in a month’s time.

On Tuesday, they thrashed Vietnam 6-0 in a friendly in Suwon. 

While Nishigaya was pleased that his men managed to adapt to the conditions, he reminded them of the quality of their second-round opponents.

He added: “We have played against Middle Eastern opposition (Saudi Arabia) before and now we will be facing a much higher-ranked Asian opponent in South Korea for our first match, which is also an away game.

“In order for us to get points, every player needs to play to his maximum potential for the full 90 minutes, without exception.” 

Lions captain Hariss Harun admitted they will have their work cut out against the Taegeuk Warriors.

He said: “We need to be more clinical, especially when chances will be harder to come by against higher-level opposition.”