Lions on the cusp of Asian Cup qualification history as they go for the win in Hong Kong

SINGAPORE – The equation is straightforward: The winners of the penultimate Asian Cup qualifier between Hong Kong and Singapore at Kai Tak Stadium on Nov 18 will advance to the continental showpiece, while the losers have to wait years for another chance.

A draw means qualification will depend on the final Group C matches as Singapore host Bangladesh and Hong Kong visit India on March 31, 2026.

Encouragingly, the Lions’ attackers are in scoring mood, with Glenn Kweh exemplifying the positivity with an assist in the 2-1 Asian Cup qualifying victory in India before his first two goals in the 3-2 friendly loss in Thailand. Previously, he had just one assist in his first 25 caps since his international debut in 2022.

Peaking at the right time as Singapore enter the winners-take-all match, the 25-year-old told The Straits Times there is no secret other than hard work.

Kweh, who usually plays on the right flank for BG Tampines Rovers but has started on the left for the Lions, said: “I treat every day the same – I try to prepare to the best of my abilities regardless of what game it is. It just so happened that I started scoring.

“Playing on left and right is a little different – I’m a left footer, so if I play on the left, you can expect a lot more crosses than when I’m on the right, where I’m able to dribble down the line or cut in and shoot. It all boils down to the tactics for the day.

“But being able to score and assist in such big games definitely gives me more confidence.”

National interim coach Gavin Lee said of Kweh: “With more time at a certain level, they adapt to the level. What we see of Glenn now is a consequence of repetitions in that kind of environment. Knowing him, he wants more.”

At club level, Kweh has also flourished with eight goals and 17 assists in 45 games in the 2024-25 season for Tampines, following up with four goals in 11 games so far this season, including his first Asian Football Confederation Champions League Two goal in the 1-1 draw at Pohang Steelers.

The good news is, he is not the only one who looks capable of scoring as the Lions have found the net in each of their last seven international matches. Lee and his predecessor Tsutomu Ogura have moulded them into a team who are not afraid to take the game to higher-ranked opponents.

Ikhsan Fandi has two goals in the qualifiers and six in his last three appearances for Thai club Ratchaburi, while his younger brother Ilhan scored in two of Singapore’s last three friendlies and grabbed two goals and two assists in his last match for Buriram United.

Song Ui-young provided three goals in the qualifiers, including the match-winning brace against India and Shawal Anuar contributed two assists in the home draw and away win against India.

Kweh feels that such good form is contagious, while Lee believes everyone in the team can chip in.

Lee said: “It’s nice that they’re arriving this time with a different set of conditions than before. It’s definitely helpful. But we can’t be a team that are too dependent on an individual’s condition. We need to find ways for each other to succeed, regardless of our individual condition.”

As they go for goals against a Hong Kong side that look vulnerable against set-pieces and crosses, with coach Ashley Westwood claiming “we don’t have lots of players who can play at the intensity we want for 90 minutes”, the Lions will also be looking to tighten their defence that has not kept a clean sheet in seven games.

Boosted by nine naturalised players and six others who were born in Hong Kong and were eligible to represent other countries, the hosts have shown that on their day, they too are capable of scoring.

They trounced Fiji 8-0 in a friendly and beat Bangladesh 4-3 in the qualifiers.

However, they do have selection issues as defender Oliver Gerbig is suspended, while 112-cap goalkeeper Yapp Hung Fai is out injured and their three custodians, including 41-year-old China-born Wang Zhenpeng, have only 18 caps among them.

Striker Michael Udebuluzor, 21, said: “If we win, we qualify; if we lose, we cry, and I don’t want to cry.”

The 1.86m striker, who was born in Hong Kong and plays in Estonia, has 20 caps and two goals since renouncing Nigerian citizenship.

Skipper Hariss Harun acknowledged the previous lapses in concentration and challenged his team to stop Hong Kong from scoring.

The defender, who is set to collect his 146th cap on the eve of his 35th birthday to join Daniel Bennett as Singapore’s most-capped footballers, said: “If we keep a clean sheet, it’s half the battle won in the sense we just need to go up the other end of the pitch to score to win the match.

“But in the last few games, we had a lapse of concentration in the home game against India and conceded some goals into the top corner away in India and Thailand, but one can argue that they could have been avoided in the earlier phases of play.

“We can do better, we don’t point fingers at each other but will see how we can improve individually and as a collective unit to minimise these things. We want to continue to try to play in a way that will give us the best chance of winning and it starts with not conceding any goals.”

The stakes are high and the atmosphere will be electric with a sell-out crowd of 50,000 including about 2,000 Singapore fans.

The biggest challenge for Lee now is to help the team manage the buzz and play well.

He said: “People are saying this game is do-or-die, but everybody has been saying it’s do-or-die ever since we started the campaign. So, nothing has really changed and in this game, we are playing for the same three points that we played for in India.

“The one difference is the consequence of the game, but the consequences are not in our control and we want to focus on what we can control.

“What we can control is how we perceive the situation, make sure we find ourselves in the most neutral and beneficial brain state to go out and play our football, because we know what we are capable of.”