Singapore drawn with Thailand, Malaysia in Asean Football Federation C’ship

SINGAPORE – Another Causeway derby with Malaysia beckons for Singapore, as both teams were placed in Group A of the Nov 23-Dec 21 Asean Mitsubishi Electric Cup during the draw in Hanoi on May 21.

The other teams in the group are defending champions Thailand, Cambodia and the winners of the two-legged play-off between Brunei and Timor-Leste. Last edition’s runners-up Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Myanmar and Laos make up Group B.

The Republic will kick off their campaign with a home game against Cambodia on Nov 26. That will be followed by an away tie on Nov 29 against the play-off winners and a Dec 2 match against heavy-favourites Thailand at home.

Another away trip to Malaysia on Dec 6 will likely decide if Singapore make it out of the group stage.

The last time the fierce rivals met was in the 2022 edition, when Malaysia prevailed 4-1 at the Bukit Jalil Stadium in their final group game to eliminate the Lions in January 2023.

The Lions have also lost their last seven meetings with Thailand, with their most recent victory dating back to the 2012 Asean Cup final, when the Republic won 3-1 in the first leg en route to capturing the title.

When contacted, Singapore coach Tsutomu Ogura, who was appointed on Feb 1, declined to comment on the draw.

Singapore custodian Hassan Sunny, who is not sure if he would be called up, told The Straits Times that it would be a tough campaign.

“It is never easy to play this tournament, be it whoever we are drawn with. All the teams are quite tough to play. Especially Cambodia who have improved so much in recent years. I wouldn’t want to say 100 per cent we would fail or we would go through,” said the 40-year-old.

Singapore attacker Faris Ramli, who scored in the 2023 defeat by Malaysia, believes the rematch is “not about revenge”, but rather building on the work of Ogura.

The 31-year-old said: “We can feel the atmosphere and there is something different about this team with how Ogura’s selection is. I feel it’s going to be an exciting one. The boys know what is at stake and everyone is in line with the direction the coach wants us to play.

“I really can’t wait because this tournament is what everyone has been waiting for. Everyone knows the importance of this Asean Cup and for us to be competing against our neighbouring countries is something different to other tournaments.”

To make it tougher for Singapore, they could be without the services of players from Lion City Sailors and BG Tampines Rovers.

As the 2023 Singapore Premier League champions, the Sailors have qualified for the 2024-25 AFC Champions League 2 (ACL 2). Tampines also secured a qualifying play-off berth as the second-best local team.

Match days 5 and 6 of ACL 2 will be held on Nov 26-28 and Dec 3-5 respectively, clashing with the competition dates for the Asean Cup.

While Thailand and Malaysia will also have players involved in AFC club competitions, Hassan believes the impact on Singapore could be greater due to their lack of squad depth.

He added: “It’s never easy because we have a limited pool of players and it’s quite tough if we don’t have the Lion City Sailors players who are important players.

“Thailand can form up to two or three teams but we have only the best 20.

“But, that said, we do have interesting young players coming up and maybe this is good timing for them to gain experience.”

BG Tampines winger Faris said “nothing yet has been confirmed” at the club, adding: “For now, the players can only do so much. We can only hope that things go well and we can find some solution, but if not, then it’s up to coach Ogura’s selections for the AFF Cup.”

Since their last triumph in 2012, the Lions have not progressed from the group stage except for the delayed 2020 edition, held in Singapore the following year.

Then,

the Republic fell to Indonesia

5-3 on aggregate after extra time in the dramatic two-legged semi-finals.

Besides seven-time champions Thailand, Singapore are still the second-most successful side in the competition’s history with four titles in 1998, 2004, 2007 and 2012.

Vietnam won it twice, while Malaysia clinched their sole victory in 2010.

Hassan added: “Every game we play is going to be like a final. Every game, every point, every goal counts.

“It’s important to go into the tournament with the mindset that we need to win all the matches. We have many players doing well with their clubs now and, even if I’m not participating, I’ll give my full support to them.”