Lions achieve unbeaten Asian Cup qualifying campaign with home win, fans divided about performance

Lions cap off historic Asian Cup qualification campaign with gritty 1-0 win over Bangladesh

The tie was essentially a dead rubber, with the Lions already securing qualification to the 2027 Asian Cup after the win over Hong Kong last year.

However, Singapore managed to grind out a 1-0 win against Bangladesh on Tuesday (31 March) night, capping off an historic unbeaten Asian Cup qualifying campaign in front of a home crowd.

President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, the Guest-of-Honour, was one of the spectators in a crowd of more than 30,000 people — the largest for a Singapore national team football game since a 2024 World Cup qualifier against South Korea.

Bright start to the game

The game started off relatively even, with both sides showcasing a degree of intensity and desire.

Bangladesh, spurred on by Leicester City’s Hamza Choudhury, hassled and hurried the Singaporean players, in an attempt to search for a breakthrough.

However, it was Singapore that took the lead in the 30th minute, as centre-back Irfan Fandi played a long ball to the left flank for winger Glenn Kweh.

While Glenn’s shot was saved by Bangladesh’s custodian Mitul Marma, the ball eventually broke loose for Harhys Stewart, who emphatically struck past Marma.

This marked Harhys’ first international goal in 15 caps for the Lions.

Holding out for the win

However, after taking the lead, Singapore appeared relatively content to defend the lead.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh seemed buoyed, looking to give their 6,000-strong contingent something to cheer about.

After a series of squandered half-chances from Singapore, Bangladesh nearly pulled a goal back, with Mirajul Islam’s shot from Choudhury’s right-wing cross cannoning off the post.

That was as close as Bangladesh got, as Singapore eventually saw out the game with the help of some last-ditch defending.

‘Good result but not a good performance’

Speaking after the game, Singapore’s coach Gavin Lee was relatively stoic, describing the match as a “good result but not a good performance”.

Lee also described the National Stadium atmosphere as “amazing”, but said that the team was “not satisfied with the performance”.

Man-of-the-Match Harhys echoed Lee’s sentiments, saying, “We’re happy with the win but there’s lots to be desired with the performance”.

However, he acknowledged that scoring a goal in front of Singapore fans was “an amazing feeling”.

Netizens split on performance

Despite the large turnout and a win, Lions fans had similar critiques of the team’s performance.

Many were quick to point out the discrepancies between the fitness levels of both countries.

One netizen urged the players to improve their fitness, and called on the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) to prepare the team sooner ahead of the next stage of the competition.

“Fitness is the biggest problem,” said another Reddit user, who added that the Bangladeshi players “outran” the Singaporeans.

Others took issue with Singapore’s pragmatic and defensive style of play, especially after the opening goal.

One netizen, for example, said that they were not entertained by how the match played out.

However, there were others who found that the critics were being too harsh.

For one fan, winning and being “undefeated in the process” is more than enough.

“Live a little and support the boys,” they said.

Some netizens also highlighted the positives of the home game, such as the level of effort and care put into the festivities.

One netizen even likened the pre-match shows to a “UEFA Champions League final”, calling the post-match fireworks “top class”.

Forrest Li, the president of FAS, also pledged S$50 million dollars to fund local football development, news which was announced to the crowd before kick-off.

“The only way is up if we continue to invest in the team and make the stadium more of a Lion’s Den,” wrote the netizen.

Asian Cup group stage draw postponed

Singapore cemented its place in the Asian Cup after qualifying unbeaten and top of their group with 14 points.

Hong Kong finished in second place despite losing to India on the final matchday, while Bangladesh held on to the third spot.

Only the top-placed country in each group qualifies for the Asian Cup, joining 18 other countries that previously secured qualification.

However, the Asian Cup group stage draw, which was set to take place on 11 April in Riyadh, was recently pushed back due to ongoing conflict in the Middle East region, with no replacement date announced.

Singaporean fans are also looking forward to see if overseas-born players such as Kai Whitmore and Perry Ng will attain citizenship before the Asian Cup, and represent Singapore in the quadrennial showpiece.

Also read: Naturalised footballer Kyoga Nakamura finds comfort in S’pore as Lions eye historic homecoming

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Featured image adapted from Football Association of Singapore on Instagram and Instagram.