SINGAPORE: The task facing Singapore is daunting. To keep their tournament hopes alive, the Young Lions must not only end a 14-year SEA Games winless streak against hosts Thailand on Thursday (Dec 11), but do so by a wide margin.
Still, head coach Firdaus Kassim and his players believe they can pull off a massive upset at Bangkok’s Rajamangala National Stadium, despite coming off a 3–1 loss to Timor-Leste in their Group A opener.
Speaking to CNA by phone on Wednesday, Firdaus said he had “full confidence in the boys” ahead of their final group game. His players echoed that optimism, even while accepting that Thailand are the favourites.
When asked what the fans could expect from Singapore, defender Andrew Aw was unequivocal. “We are very hungry to go out there … leave everything out on the pitch,” the 22-year-old said.
“That’s one message from the coach, from the players. We want to put up a performance that not only we can be proud of, but Singapore can be proud of.”
“You know … Thailand is always tough, especially, they’re a good team,” midfielder Harith Danish, 17, added.
“Nevertheless, we’re still going to give our all and push through … to get the result that we hope for.”
While the Young Lions struck early in last Saturday’s opener, they were unable to defend their lead – and Thailand, who put six past Timor-Leste in their opening game, are more than capable of punishing any similar slip-ups.
If the visitors are to keep the Thais at bay, Harith knows he and his teammates cannot afford to switch off at any point.
“I feel like we need to stay 100 per cent concentrated and push all the way throughout the 90 minutes,” he said.
“We lost our focus and (the) lapse of concentration in decisive moments … punished us,” coach Firdaus added.
Aw still bears the scars of the 7–0 thrashing the Young Lions suffered at the hands of Malaysia at the 2023 SEA Games.
One of the few survivors from that squad, he is all too aware of how damaging a heavy defeat can be to a player’s psyche.
“I’ll definitely never forget that match in my life,” he said.
Aw described that setback as a turning point, using the pain of that loss as fuel to push his career forward.
The loss to Timor-Leste was another low point, but his focus now is solely on Thailand.
“I think we cannot forget the game, but we definitely have to move on from it,” he told CNA.
“Right now, the focus is on what we can control, which is preparing the best that we can for the Thailand game.”
Singapore’s under-22 men’s football team have fared poorly at the SEA Games in the past editions.
The team last qualified for the semi-finals in 2013 and since then, they have been eliminated from the group stage in the next five Games.
However, Firdaus is gunning for the best possible outcome – a resounding win that will put his side through to the next round – and urged his side not to let past performances “be a burden on us”.
“What we gave in the last game, what we thought was our best wasn’t good enough,” he said. “This has to change.”