Singapore national football team

In 1892, the Singapore Amateur Football Association applied to become a registered society. The HMS Malaya Cup (which was later known as the Malaysia Cup) was launched in 1921 by officers of a British battleship in Malaya, and Singapore was one of the six teams that took part in the inaugural year, and won the event. While the representative side in the Malaysia Cup and the Malaysian League was not the national team per se – this team included some foreign players – many Singapore football fans viewed the Malaysia Cup side as being the national team, and the team's exploits in the Malaysian competitions generally drew much more attention than Singapore's participation in other international tournaments. They either won or were runners up in the event every year until 1941, after which it was suspended because of World War II.

Overall, Singapore won 24 Malaysia Cup titles and two Malaysian League titles. After winning the Malaysia Cup and league double in 1994, the Football Association of Singapore withdrew from the Malaysian competitions following a dispute with the Football Association of Malaysia over gate receipts. Singapore subsequently launched its own professional league, the S.League, in 1996, and also began to put much more focus on the performance of its national team in international competitions.

At that time, Singapore hosted their first and so far, its only international competition, the 1984 AFC Asian Cup. The team was eliminated from the group stage with four points, a 2–0 win over India and a shocking 0–0 draw to giant Iran.

Singapore won the bronze medal in the 1995 Southeast Asian Games, after losing 0–1 in the semi-finals to the hosts and eventual gold medalists, Thailand. Singapore hosted the 1996 AFF Championship but were eliminated in the group stages.

The national team again reached the semi-finals of the Southeast Asian Games in 1997, losing to Indonesia, and lost to Vietnam 0–1 in the third-place match.

However, in the 1998 edition of the AFF Championship, Singapore's team led by coach Barry Whitbread won the group stage with victories over Malaysia and the Philippines. In the semi-finals, they beat Indonesia and subsequently edged out hosts Vietnam 1–0 in the final. This was the country's first ever international title.

Jan B. Poulsen, who was part of Denmark's backroom staff at the 1998 World Cup, was appointed the Technical Director of the Football Association of Singapore in 1999. Due to poor results by Singapore in the 2000 AFF Championship, coach Vincent Subramaniam was sacked and Poulsen took over as coach in December 2000. Singapore hosted the 2002 AFF Championship, but lost 0–4 to arch-rivals Malaysia in their first game. Before the game, local newspaper The New Paper was encouraging fans to turn up in numbers. After the game, the Lions attributed their heavy defeat to the unexpected large crowd. Singapore went on to win 2–1 over Laos, but a 1–1 draw in the final group game against Thailand was not enough for them to reach the knock-out stages. Poulsen was sacked after the tournament.

Radojko Avramović took over as coach of the flailing and deflated Singapore national football team in July 2003. Singapore started the 2004 AFF Championship as underdogs but a 1–1 draw in their first game against hosts Vietnam, another draw against Indonesia, and wins against Cambodia and Laos saw them qualify for the semi-finals.

Singapore were drawn against Myanmar in the two-legged semi-finals. Singapore took a 4–3 away lead back home for the second leg. In the ill-tempered second leg, three Myanmar players were sent off and a reserve Myanmar goalkeeper even threw a water bottle at defender S. Subramani. Singapore went on to win 4–2 after extra time for an 8–5 aggregate victory.

Singapore then won the first leg of the two-legged final against Indonesia 3–1 in Jakarta, before winning 2–1 (5–2 on aggregate) in the second leg in front of a 55,000 home crowd.

In 2006, Avramovic then led Singapore into the 2007 Asian Cup qualifiers with a 2–0 victory at home over Iraq, but Singapore failed to build on this victory and then lost away to Palestine. The Singapore team then took on China away in Tianjin and lost to an injury time penalty. China travelled to Singapore for the second meeting and the Singapore defence held out for a 0–0 draw. A subsequent 2–4 loss to Iraq dashed Singapore's hopes of qualifying for the Asian Cup. The Asian Cup qualifying campaign ended with a default 3–0 victory over Palestine, who were unable to fulfill the fixture.

Singapore hosted the group stages of the 2007 AFF Championship. After a 0–0 draw with Vietnam, Singapore then thrashed Laos 11–0 to record their largest-ever win. In the final group match, Singapore knocked Indonesia out of the tournament in a 2–2 draw. Singapore met Malaysia in the semi-final. The first leg saw a 1–1 draw in Shah Alam, while in the second leg at Singapore's National Stadium, following another 1–1 draw, Singapore beat Malaysia in a penalty shoot-out 5–4, goalkeeper Lionel Lewis saving the final Malaysian spot kick from Mohd Khyril Muhymeen Zambri. In the final against Thailand, Singapore won a controversial first leg at home 2–1, then secured a 1–1 draw in Bangkok thanks to a late strike from Khairul Amri to retain the AFF Championship trophy.[7]

In the 2008 AFF Championship co-hosted by Indonesia and Thailand, Singapore was drawn in Group A to against Indonesia, Myanmar and Cambodia. Singapore progressed from the group as winners. However, they lost out to eventual winners Vietnam 0–1 on aggregate.

Singapore met Palestine in the first round of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifying Tournament. Singapore won the first leg 4–0 away in Doha, and the Palestinians again failed to fulfill the away fixture, so FIFA awarded Singapore a 3–0 win.

Singapore was drawn with Tajikistan in the second round: Singapore won the home match 2–0 and drew the return leg 1–1 on 18 November to progress to the third round of the Asian Qualifying Tournament for the first time, where they were drawn against Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Uzbekistan.

Singapore's group stage campaign began with a loss to Saudi Arabia, but the Lions then beat Lebanon 2–0 at home. Successive losses to Uzbekistan, 3–7 and 0–1, left Singapore with little chance of getting into the next round. Singapore were finally eliminated when they lost 0–2 to the Saudis at home. Singapore finished third in the group with six points from six games after defeating Lebanon 2–1 in Beirut in their final game. With the elimination, Goal 2010 was also dropped.

For the 2011 AFC Asian Cup qualification, Singapore was drawn in Group E, together with Iran, Thailand and Jordan. Singapore were beaten 0–6 by Iran in the first match, and then defeated Jordan 2–1. In November 2009, Singapore hosted Thailand at the National Stadium and lost 3–1, but won the return fixture 1–0 a few days later, earning Singapore their first victory on Thai soil in 48 years. Singapore next hosted Iran, losing 1–3, and the 1–2 defeat against Jordan which followed ended their hopes of Asian Cup football in 2011. The players reported some teammates were smoking during halftime in the match against Jordan.

In 2010, Singapore drew with the Philippines 1–1, defeated Myanmar 2–1, then duly lost to Vietnam 0–1 in the knockout stage decider. As a result, the Singapore national football team was knocked out of the group stage in Hanoi. The Lions were criticised for their dismal performances in the AFF Championship, which they won in 1998, 2004, and 2007.

In January 2011, the FAS decided to disband and revamp the national team. Six months later, The Lions were back in action after the dismal performances in 2010. In May 2011, national team coach Raddy Avramovic announced the new 33-strong national provisional squad for the upcoming international friendlies and 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign. The Lions were scheduled to play international friendlies against Maldives on 7 June 2011 and Laos on 18 July 2011.

Few days after releasing the provisional 33-man squad, national team training started in preparation of the match against Maldives. Avramovic led the new-look Lions in a game where Singapore won Maldives 4–0 at the Jalan Besar Stadium, Singapore in a friendly match. (Note. The match was not an 'A' international because unlimited substitutions were allowed.)

After the 4–0 win against Maldives, a closed-door friendly match against Etoile FC (of the S.League) was played at the Jalan Besar Stadium, in which the Lions were triumphant thanks to goals from Aleksandar Duric and Qiu Li. Less than a week later before the World Cup qualifier, a final friendly was played against Chinese Taipei. Singapore won the match 3–2 with goals from Aleksandar Duric, Shi Jiayi and Fazrul Nawaz.

In preparation for the third round of the World Cup Qualifiers, the Lions played a friendly non-'A' match against Thailand before their opening qualifier against China. The friendly finished 0–0.

The Singapore national team took part in the 10th edition of the Sultan of Selangor Cup, usually contested by the Singapore Selection. They beat the Selangor Selection 1–0. This was also Singapore's sixth time winning the Sultan of Selangor Cup. They then took on but was defeated by the Philippines 0–2 in a friendly.

Few months later, Coach Raddy Avramovic announced a new 27-man squad for the national team comprising mostly players from LionsXII.

Singapore received a bye to the second round of 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification in 2011 because of their accession to the third round of the qualifying in the previous World Cup.

Their second round opponents were regional rivals Malaysia, whom they beat 5–3 in the first leg with goals from Aleksandar Duric, Qiu Li, Mustafic Fahrudin and Shi Jiayi. The second leg was held at the National Stadium, Bukit Jalil on 28 July 2011. A 1–1 draw thanks to a key Shi Jiayi goal in the second half was enough to put Singapore through to the 3rd Round of Asian Zone World Cup 2014 Qualifying.

In the preliminary draw in Brazil on 30 July 2011 by the football governing body FIFA, Singapore was drawn into Group A for their Round 3 of the Asian qualifiers with Jordan, Iraq and China.

Singapore kicked off the third round with a 1–2 loss to China in Kunming. They then succumbed to a second defeat, 0–2, against Iraq. The next match was slated to be held at Jalan Besar Stadium, Singapore on 11 October against Jordan which Singapore lost 0–3. A 0–2 defeat to Jordan in Amman killed off the Lions' chances of progress. Singapore ended the year with a 0–4 defeat at home to China PR, their 5th consecutive loss. Iraq then dealt the Singapore team a heavy 1–7 loss in Doha, Qatar, with Singapore bowing out with no wins.

Mahbud

Hamzah

Fandi

Ong

Shah

Jonathan Tan

Baharudin

Nazari

Arifin

Nizam

Ikhsan Fandi

2012 AFF Championship champion second-leg finals starting line-up.[8]

In 2012, Singapore started their tournament with a 3–0 win over close rivals Malaysia.[9] They then lost 0–1 to Indonesia before winning 4–3 in the knockout stage decider against Laos.[10] to top the group and qualify for the semi-finals.

Against the Philippines in the semi-finals, Singapore won 1–0 on aggregate. The solitary goal from Khairul Amri during the home leg of the semi-finals[11] was enough to set up a meeting with Thailand in the finals.

The Lions won the first leg of the finals 3–1 in Singapore. Despite losing the away leg 0–1, Singapore was able to pick up the 2012 AFF Championship, their fourth championship. Singapore holds the record for the highest number of AFF Championship titles.[12] Raddy Avramovic ended his tenure as Singapore coach after the tournament.

For the 2015 AFC Asian Cup qualification, Singapore was drawn in Group A, together with Iran, Thailand and Jordan. Singapore were beaten 0–4 by Jordan in the first match, and then loss to Jordan with a scoreline of 0–2. In October 2013, Singapore hosted Syria at the Jalan Besar Stadium and with their first win of the campaign with a 2–1 victory thanks to Gabriel Quak's late winner which was also his first international goal. But a month later, Syria won Singapore in the return fixture 0–4. Singapore next hosted Jordan, losing 1–3, and the 1–3 defeat against Oman which followed ended their hopes of Asian Cup football in 2015.

The FAS announced on 15 May 2013 that they had appointed German Bernd Stange as the new head coach of the national team.[13]

On 27 May 2013, Stange announced his choice of 23 players for the friendlies against Myanmar and Laos on 4 June 2013 and 7 June 2013 respectively. The squad featured several new players who were called up to the national squad for the first time, including 17-year-old Adam Swandi. LionsXII midfielders Gabriel Quak and Faris Ramli and Tanjong Pagar United's winger Hafiz Nor also received their first national call-ups.[14]

Veteran forward Indra Sahdan was also recalled to the national team. He took the captain's armband on 4 June 2013 for coach Stange's first game against Myanmar which Singapore won 2–0.[15] He also scored the first goal in the second friendly match against Laos, which saw Singapore with a 5–2 victory.[16]

Following the two wins, Singapore's FIFA World Rankings rose nine places to 156 in July 2013.[6]

Stange registered his first international competition win on 15 October 2013 against Syria.

Stange had been trying to inculcate the one-touch, quick-tempo style of play for into the Singapore team, and gear the team up for the 2014 AFF Championship and try to retain the AFF Championship.

The Lions entered the 2014 AFF Championship as the defending champions trying to defend the cup on home soil, but their title defence was spoiled with a 1–2 defeat over Thailand, which they also faced back in 2012. Then, they beat Myanmar 4–2 before bowing out after suffering a 1–3 defeat to rivals Malaysia. The Lions finished with 3 points and 3rd in Group B, and are the first team in the history of the AFF Championship to bow out from the group stage as the defending champions.

The Lions kick started their campaign with an away game against Cambodia on 11 June 2015 which ended 4–0 in favour of Singapore.[17] Following which, they travelled to Saitama Stadium in Japan where they held the hosts to a goalless draw.[18] However, they were defeated by Syria 0–1, at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Muscat, Oman, marking their first loss in the group stages of the tournament.[19] The Lions then beat Afghanistan by a scoreline of 1–0 and their 2nd consecutive win against Cambodia, winning the game 2–1. However, the winning streak ended when they faced Japan at home, and were defeated 0–3. They then went on to face Syria, which was a tight game. Khribin of Syria scored on the 20th minute and were 0-1 up. Safuwan of Singapore scored a late equaliser on the 89th minute but Singapore could not hold on to the draw which ended Khribin again scoring on the 3rd minute of added time after the 90th minute, this resulted in a 1–2 loss to Singapore. Singapore played their final game against Afghanistan and were defeated 1–2. Singapore finished in third place in the table with a total points of 10.

In April 2016, a month after the match against Afghanistan, the FAS announced that Bernd Stange contract would not be renewed and he left the Singapore national football team.[20] After a few months of Stange's departure, FAS announced the new caretaker coach was to be then Tampines Rovers head coach V. Sundramoorthy.[21]

Sundram's first major tournament was the 2016 AYA Bank Cup in June where the team won host Myanmar and went on to the finals against Vietnam. In that match, the two teams drew after 90 mins and went on to extra time where Singapore conceded 3 goals to clinch second.

After a few months, Sundram and FAS arranged the long-awaited Causeway Challenge against Singapore's rival, Malaysia. In that match, Singapore created a lot of chances and dominated the game but was unfortunate to end the game with a 0–0 draw.

In 2016, Sundram also called up a few uncapped players like Syazwan Buhari, Khairulhin Khalid, Irfan Fandi, Abdil Qaiyyim, Shawal Anuar, Azhar Sairudin and Amy Recha. Many of which has at least one cap to their name. Although Hami Syahin was not called up for any matches, he was registered in the 40 man provisional squad for the 2016 AFF Championship. Sundram also recalled several players like Daniel Bennett, Mustafic Fahrudin, Zulfadli Zainal and Hafiz Nor. Ridhuan Muhammad was not recalled for any matches but was registered in the 40-man provisional squad for the 2016 AFF Championship. Sundram also gave chances to the two players, Shahfiq Ghani and Shahdan Sulaiman who both just recovered from long-term injuries to prove themselves.

In 2016, Singapore was grouped with ASEAN giants, Thailand together with Indonesia and Philippines and was grouped in the "Group of Death" as the teams in this group were tough. Singapore then started their tournament with a 0–0 draw over Philippines. They then lost 0–1 to Thailand where Thailand's Sarawut Masuk scored a late winner in the 89th minute. Singapore actually needed at least a draw with Indonesia and Thailand have to beat Philippines to qualify for the semi-finals. It was great news in the first half as Singapore was leading 1–0 but Singapore's defence went to sleep and conceded 2 late goals for Indonesia to qualify for the semi-finals. Singapore ended their 2016 AFF Championship at the bottom of the table.

Singapore started their 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification – Third Round campaign against Bahrain on 28 March 2017. Singapore drew with Bahrain with a score-line of 0–0. In Singapore's next game, they went on to play against Chinese Taipei where they lost 1–2 at home with Singapore's vice-captain Hariss Harun scoring and Xavier Chen and Chen Chao-an scoring for the visitors.

Singapore's head coach V. Sundramoorthy introduced a National Team Day where Mondays are for players who are called up for a short meeting and tactical training session in the pitch. In this call up, Sundram recalled players like Raihan Rahman.[22] Sundram also called up the uncapped Ho Wai Loon as a standby player for matches against Afghanistan and Bahrain. Sundram also called up uncapped Muhaimin Suhaimi for the friendly against Myanmar, the 2019 Asian Cup Qualifiers against Chinese Taipei and the friendly against Argentina.[23] They made history for not winning any match in a year, reaching the lowest FIFA ranking ever of 173rd placing.

Singapore finished bottom of the group with 2 points, losing the final match 1–0 to secure home-and-away losses against Chinese Taipei on 26 March 2018.

From 1932 until the National Stadium was opened in 1973, Jalan Besar Stadium hosted all home games of Singapore's representative sides which participated in the Malaysia Cup. Since then, all of Singapore's home games in the Malaysia Cup and the national team home matches were played at the National Stadium.

However, the National Stadium was slated for demolishment in 2010 to make way for the new Singapore Sports Hub which was completed in 2014. Singapore played Australia in what was planned to be the last game ever to be played at that stadium. However, due to some delays caused by the addition of new plans for the Singapore Sports Hub, the National Stadium continued to host 5 more matches, and it was also the venue for 2 more World Cup 2010 qualifier matches. While the stadium was being rebuilt as part of the new Sports Hub, the Singapore national team played its home games at the Jalan Besar Stadium, sharing it with the LionsXII and the Cubs (U15 and U16 teams).

Since the start of 2004, Singapore has played its home matches in 7 different stadiums all over Singapore.

Singapore national football team home stadiums
Image	Stadium	Capacity	Location	Last match
	National Stadium	55,000	Kallang	v   Uzbekistan (15 October 2019; 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification)
	Jalan Besar Stadium	8,000	Kallang	v   Turkmenistan (5 September 2017; 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification)
	Bishan Stadium	3,500	Bishan	v   Mongolia (12 October 2018; Friendly)
	Choa Chu Kang Stadium	4,268	Choa Chu Kang	v   India (16 October 2012; Friendly)
	Jurong West Stadium	4,200	Jurong West	v   Pakistan (19 November 2012; Friendly)
	Jurong East Stadium	2,700	Jurong East	v   Brunei (6 June 2015; Friendly)
	Hougang Stadium	3,800	Hougang	v   Hong Kong (9 September 2014; Friendly)
	Yishun Stadium	3,400	Yishun	v   Cambodia (17 November 2014; Friendly)

The following 25 players were selected for the national team training on 3 and 10 March 2020.[27]

Caps and goals updated as of 19 November 2019, after the match against  Yemen.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	1GK	Hassan Sunny	(1984-04-02) 2 April 1984	85	0	Lion City Sailors
	1GK	Zaiful Nizam	(1987-07-24) 24 July 1987	3	0	Balestier Khalsa
	2DF	Nazrul Nazari	(1991-02-11) 11 February 1991	39	0	Hougang United
	2DF	Zulqarnaen Suzliman	(1998-03-29) 29 March 1998	11	0	Lion City Sailors
	2DF	Fadli Kamis	(1992-11-07) 7 November 1992	3	0	Balestier Khalsa
	2DF	Anders Aplin	(1991-06-21) 21 June 1991	2	0	Hougang United
	2DF	Iqram Rifqi	(1996-02-25) 25 February 1996	2	0	Lion City Sailors
	2DF	Harith Kanadi	(2000-08-01) 1 August 2000	0	0	Geylang International
	2DF	Tajeli Salamat	(1994-02-07) 7 February 1994	0	0	Lion City Sailors
	2DF	Jordan Vestering	(2000-09-25) 25 September 2000	0	0	Hougang United
	3MF	Shahdan Sulaiman	(1988-05-09) 9 May 1988	64	4	Lion City Sailors
	3MF	Yasir Hanapi	(1989-06-21) 21 June 1989	37	1	Tampines Rovers
	3MF	Gabriel Quak	(1990-12-22) 22 December 1990	35	5	Lion City Sailors
	3MF	Anumanthan Kumar	(1994-07-14) 14 July 1994	19	0	Unattached
	3MF	Firdaus Kasman	(1988-01-24) 24 January 1988	8	0	Geylang International
	3MF	Hafiz Nor	(1988-08-22) 22 August 1988	6	1	Lion City Sailors
	3MF	Christopher van Huizen	(1992-11-28) 28 November 1992	4	0	Geylang International
	3MF	Afiq Noor	(1993-12-25) 25 December 1993	0	0	Hougang United
	3MF	Farhan Zulkifli	(2002-11-10) 10 November 2002	0	0	Hougang United
	3MF	Haiqal Pashia	(1998-11-29) 29 November 1998	0	0	Lion City Sailors
	3MF	Rezza Rezky	(2000-11-08) 8 November 2000	0	0	Young Lions
	4FW	Sahil Suhaimi	(1992-07-08) 8 July 1992	20	1	Hougang United
	4FW	Shawal Anuar	(1991-04-29) 29 April 1991	10	1	Hougang United
	4FW	Hazzuwan Halim	(1994-02-02) 2 February 1994	3	0	Balestier Khalsa

The following players have also been called up in the last 12 months to the Singapore squad.

Notes:

• ^STA Player on standby
• ^SUS Player suspended
• ^RC Player suspended for yellow or red card accumulation.
• ^INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury
• ^RET Retired from the national team
• ^WD Player withdrew from the squad for non-injury related reasons

• 1984 AFC Asian Cup squad
• 1996 AFF Championship squad[28][29]
• 1998 AFF Championship squad
• 2000 AFF Championship squad
• 2002 AFF Championship squad
• 2004 AFF Championship squad
• 2007 AFF Championship squad
• 2008 AFF Championship squad
• 2010 AFF Championship squad
• 2012 AFF Championship squad
• 2014 AFF Championship squad
• 2016 AFF Championship squad
• 2018 AFF Championship squad

2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Round

Palestine  v  Singapore

25 March 2021 2022 FWCQ	Palestine	(FIFA Ranking Points: )	Singapore	Al-Ram, Palestine
				Stadium: Faisal Al-Husseini International Stadium

Singapore  v  Saudi Arabia

30 March 2021 2022 FWCQ	Singapore	(FIFA Ranking Points: )	Saudi Arabia	Kallang, Singapore
				Stadium: National Stadium

Uzbekistan  v  Singapore

7 June 2021 2022 FWCQ	Uzbekistan	(FIFA Ranking Points: )	Singapore	Tashkent, Uzbekistan
				Stadium: Pakhtakor Central Stadium

1.^ Earned Malaysian nationality after Malaysia formed on 16 September 1963. Became Singaporean after Singapore separation from Malaysia in 1965.

The following table provides a summary of the Singapore national team under each coach. Includes both competitive and friendly matches.

Statistics correct as of 19 Nov 2019

Manager	Singapore career	Pld	W	D	L	Win %	Achievements
Milouš Kvaček	February 1992 – May 1992	0	0	0	0	!—
P. N. Sivaji	May 1992 – December 1993	0	0	0	0	!—	1993 Southeast Asian Games – bronze
Ken Worden	January 1994 – March 1994	0	0	0	0	!—
Douglas Moore	March 1994 – May 1995	0	0	0	0	!—
Barry Whitbread	June 1995 – November 1998	0	0	0	0	!—	1995 Southeast Asian Games – bronze 1998 AFF Championship – champions
Vincent Subramaniam	December 1998 – December 2000	0	0	0	0	!—
Jan Poulsen	December 2000 – January 2003	0	0	0	0	!—
Radojko Avramovic[nb 3]	July 2003 – December 2012	64	24	13	27	037.5	2004 AFF Championship – champions 2007 AFF Championship – champions 2012 AFF Championship – champions
V. Sundramoorthy	January 2013 – May 2013[nb 4]	1	0	0	1	000.0
Bernd Stange	May 2013 – April 2016	32	15	3	14	046.9
V. Sundramoorthy	May 2016 – April 2018 [nb 5]	23	3	5	15	013.0
Fandi Ahmad	May 2018 – Dec 2018	8	5	1	2	062.5
Nazri Nasir	March 2019 – June 2019	2	1	1	0	050.0
Tatsuma Yoshida	June 2019 –	9	3	2	4	033.3

Key: P–games played, W–games won, D–games drawn; L–games lost, %–win percentage