Singapore team has not won against Vietnam team for 26 years
Singapore defeated Vietnam 1-0 in the final of the 1998 Tiger Cup (the predecessor of the ASEAN Cup). Sasi Kumar's back-foot goal helped Singapore win the regional championship for the first time.
But since that milestone, the Singapore team has gone through 14 consecutive matches without being able to win against the Vietnamese team, lasting 26 years. Of these, they suffered 6 defeats, the remaining 8 matches ended in a draw.
“When The Straits Times reported that Singapore had not beaten Vietnam in a major international football match since the 1998 Tiger Cup final, Lions coach Tsutomu Ogura's face lit up.
Since the away goals rule is not applied in this tournament, if the Lions want to qualify for the ASEAN Cup final, they may have to end their 14-match winless streak against the Golden Star Warriors,” wrote writer David Lee in his article.
On paper, this semi-final pair seems unequal. The Vietnamese team is a strong candidate for the championship and has selected 26 best players for the ASEAN Cup 2024, including naturalized striker Nguyen Xuan Son.
In his debut match, Xuan Son contributed 2 goals and 2 assists, helping the Vietnamese team beat Myanmar 5-0.
Meanwhile, Singapore are without goalkeeper Hassan Sunny, who retired from international football in August, midfielders Jacob Mahler (injured) and Song Ui-young (family issues), defender Irfan Fandi and his brothers Ikhsan and Ilhan (not released by their clubs).
Singapore team's confidence
The Singapore team did not have much expectation before the ASEAN Cup 2024, but they overcame a big challenge, with 2 victories 3-0 against Timor-Leste and 2-1 against Cambodia.
The team also lost 2-4 to Thailand after leading 2-0. Lions (the nickname of Singapore) ended the group stage with an excellent 0-0 draw on Malaysia's field.
Coach Ogura said: “Our players believe in our style of play. One by one, game by game, they are improving. In some games, we play well in the first half. In other games, we play well in the second half. But every game, we improve in some way.
In the last match, we showed our fighting spirit. This is important, because game concepts and models are not enough. We need players who have the desire and fight, communicate and motivate each other. Only then will we be a team.”
The Singapore team’s good performance created a big stir among fans. Their fans quickly bought all 5,375 tickets for the first leg of the semi-final after only 6 hours of going on sale. Football fever has truly returned to Singapore.
By moving from the 55,000-seat national stadium to the Jalan Besar artificial turf stadium, with only 6,000 seats, the Singapore team will have an advantage.
With the exception of Selangor's Safuwan Baharudin, the entire Singapore squad regularly plays at this stadium during the ongoing Singapore Premier League season. Fifteen players from Lion City Sailors and Tampines Rovers also play here on continental football.
Singapore are unbeaten in six matches at Jalan Besar since a 1-2 loss to Chinese Taipei in June 2017.
In December 2022, Vietnam were held to a goalless draw at the same venue in the group stage of the 2022 ASEAN Cup.
On December 18, the Vietnamese team also had a very difficult match on the artificial turf field of Rizal Memorial in Manila.
The lucky team held the home team Philippines to a 1-1 draw with Doan Ngoc Tan's extra-time equalizer.
To prepare for the first leg of the semi-final, coach Ogura gave the team a day off so the players could spend time with their families after 2 weeks away.
“The best situation for us is to go into the second leg with a win. The Singapore players have to play smart, focused and calm. It is difficult but we have to make it a normal thing,” said the Japanese coach.
