On Thursday (6 June), Singapore’s national men’s football team was on the receiving end of a crushing 7-0 defeat to South Korea.
The performance saw South Korean stars Son Heung-min and Lee Kang-in net goals in front of a packed National Stadium that housed 49,097 spectators.
Speaking at the post-match conference, Lions’ head coach Tsutomu Ogura apologised for his players’ showing.
The first half of the game ended 2-0 to the South Koreans, with goals from Lee Kang-In and Joo Min-kyu.
Source: Football Association of Singapore on Facebook
Singapore had a chance to equalise minutes after the first goal, but midfielder Hami Syahin’s header was lobbed away by South Korean goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo.
The second half of the match saw South Korea dominating for the most part.
Source: Football Association of Singapore on Facebook
Tottenham Hotspur’s Son scored in the 53rd minute — the first of three goals the South Korean scored within four minutes.
The sixth and seventh goals came from substitutes Bae Jun-ho and Hwang Hee-chan respectively.
Speaking to reporters at a press conference after the match, Ogura complimented the South Korean side, stating that they showed “a different class”.
Source: Football Association of Singapore on Facebook
He also apologised to Singapore fans for the Lion’s disappointing performance:
I apologise to the Singapore fans. [There were] so many people coming today to watch the game but we couldn’t show our football.
He explained that his players got nervous and were “a little bit scared” as the match went on, conceding that this was something that needed working on.
“We need to move on to our next game and we should never give up and we must try to have much more improvement,” he added.
Son, who was the Man of the Match, reportedly praised the Lions:
They fought and we were more clinical… and we took the chances really well.
“When you look at the results, probably everybody will say the Singapore team was really poor, but it wasn’t the case.”
Source: 대한민국 축구 국가대표팀 – Korea Football Team on Facebook
Son also noted that the standard of football in Asia has improved “really, really fast”, as well in this year’s Asian Cup.
“They have to keep working hard because it’s not going to change day by day,” he said.
“They need to sacrifice and they need spend some time … I’m pretty sure Singapore football will be massive because they have amazing fans.”
Also read: S’pore Lions roared to unexpected 2-2 draw in new coach’s first game with China
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Featured image adapted from Football Association of Singapore on Facebook and 대한민국 축구 국가대표팀 – Korea Football Team on Facebook.
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