According to the Straits Times, the Mizuho Blue Challenge – The Kallang Football Series Singapore tournament will take place at the Singapore National Stadium. In the first match on November 13, Singapore will meet Paraguay. The remaining match, Brazil vs Japan, recreates the match in the round of 32 of the 2026 World Cup, where Brazil came back to win 2-1.
The tournament will end on November 17 with a match between Singapore and Brazil, the 5-time world champion, before Japan (17th in the world) faces Paraguay (34th), who defeated Germany in the round of 32 at the 2026 World Cup.
This tournament brings Singaporean fans the opportunity to cheer for their home team, after the team had an impressive performance at the ASEAN Cup 2026. Although Singapore lost to Thailand with a total score of 3-4 in the semi-finals, they defeated "War Elephants" 2-1 away from home.
Before the matches in November, the Lion City team also competes in the FIFA ASEAN Cup 2026, where they are in the same group as Indonesia, Bangladesh and Malaysia.
Compared to the ASEAN Cup and FIFA ASEAN Cup, Singapore's opponents in November are much stronger. In which, the Paraguay team has participated in the World Cup many times, and Brazil has won the number one tournament on the planet 5 times.
Singapore national team head coach Gavin Lee is very happy to have the opportunity to play against stronger opponents.
He said: "Matches like this are extremely valuable to us because they help us test our level and show us where we are and more importantly, where we need to improve.
We have made significant progress, but there is still a lot of work ahead, and every match we play now is aimed at helping Singapore prepare for the Asian Cup”.
At the 2027 Asian Cup, Singapore is in the same group as Australia, Iraq and Tajikistan.
Meanwhile, the head coach of the Brazilian national team, Carlo Ancelotti, said: "The friendly matches in Singapore are another important step in building the Brazilian national team for the coming years. Facing Japan and Singapore will allow us to learn about the style of the teams in different contexts, which is very necessary in the early stages of the training cycle.
We are striving to consolidate our identity and expand our options. The goal of the Brazilian team is to develop in a balanced way, preparing for the team to face the challenges ahead.
