Singapore’s Young Lions and Lionesses get tough SEA Games draws

SINGAPORE – The odds are stacked against the Singapore men’s Under-22 football team making it past the group stage at the upcoming SEA Games in Thailand, but the Young Lions are relishing the difficult task ahead.

In the draw held during the Games’ first technical delegates meeting at the Divalux Resort and Spa in Bangkok on Oct 19, the Young Lions were slotted into Group C alongside defending champions Indonesia, Myanmar and the Philippines.

Group A will feature hosts Thailand, Cambodia and Timor-Leste, while Group B comprises Vietnam, Malaysia and Laos.

Young Lions coach Firdaus Kassim said after the draw: “We know the challenge ahead... They’re tough opponents, but we welcome the challenge.”

He said his priority would be exposing the players to high-level matches and building the momentum and rhythm over the coming months.

“With the new format, we have a tougher route compared to the other groups, but our focus will only be on the things we can control. There’s already a buzz within the team, which will only grow as the competition draws nearer,” he said.

The group stage, which kicks off on Dec 3, before the Dec 9 opening ceremony, will be played in Songkhla (Group A) and Chiang Mai (Group B and C), with the three group winners and the best runners-up advancing to the semi-finals. The knockout rounds will be held in Bangkok with the final on Dec 18.

Singapore, being the only team in the fourth and lowest pot during the draw, will have to up their game significantly if they hope to make the semi-finals for the first time since they clinched the bronze in 2013.

Since then, the Young Lions have underperformed at the biennial Games.

They hit a nadir at the last Games in 2023 when they were

thumped 7-0 by Malaysia

, their heaviest defeat in the regional event after the 8-1 defeat by Burma (now Myanmar) at the 1971 South-east Asian Peninsular Games.

Singapore finished their campaign with just a solitary point after the goal-less draw with Laos. As the lowest-ranked team based on points and goal difference, they became the lowest seeds out of 10 teams in the draw for the 2025 tournament.

The Young Lions were also

not in the Singapore National Olympic Council’s provisional SEA Games list

that was released in August, and managed to secure their spots only after playing two friendly matches – a 1-0 win over Malaysia and a 0-0 draw against the Philippines – to convince the selectors.

Meanwhile, in the women’s draw, Singapore are also up against it after they were drawn from the third (second-lowest) pot into Group A alongside hosts Thailand, Cambodia and Indonesia.

Group B consists of defending champions Vietnam, Myanmar, the Philippines and Malaysia. The top two teams from each of the two groups will progress to the semi-finals. The Dec 4-17 tournament will be held in Chonburi.

National women’s coach Karim Bencherifa said of the draw: “It’s a balanced and exciting group – every opponent brings a different challenge and that’s exactly what we need to keep progressing as a team.”

The Lionesses, who won a silver in 1985 but are now the lowest-ranked team in the tournament at world No. 149, had lost 4-0 to Thailand and 1-0 to Cambodia at the previous edition before beating Laos 2-1.

Their most recent meeting against Indonesia ended in a

3-0 defeat at the Asean Football Federation Women’s Cup

in December 2024.

“It will be a challenging campaign, but we are positive, united and determined to prepare the best we can and put up a proud performance for Singapore,” added Bencherifa.

“I believe in the spirit and character of the team, and we will make the most of every session we have from now until the SEA Games to prepare well.”