Gritty Lions Suffer Loss to China

Singapore suffered a 4-1 defeat in the return leg of their 2026 World Cup qualifying double header against China in Tianjin. Two goals from Wu Lei, combined with a Fernandinho penalty and a late Wei Shihao effort gave the home side the win with Faris Ramli scoring the only goal for the Lions.

China started the match at a high tempo in front of a raucous capacity crowd at the Tianjin Olympic Centre Stadium and looked intent on setting things right after collecting just a point in the first meeting between these sides last week. They put Singapore under pressure right from the first whistle and the Lions were forced to defend for large parts of the first half.

Singapore managed to hold the home side off until the 21^st minute when China opened the scoring after a lightning break forward released their star man Wu Lei who lifted the ball over Hassan Sunny to score his third goal in two matches against the Lions. That goal raised the decibel levels but silence would very quickly fall over Tianjin as Singapore equalised just a minute later.

Faris Ramli scored in back-to-back matches for Singapore after a Ryhan Stewart cross was planted onto his head at the far post following a move straight from kickoff as Ryhan was played in behind a Chinese defense that fell asleep.

China had a couple of chances from Wu Lei to take the lead before half-time but they would have to wait until the 63^rd minute to regain the lead. The hosts had a penalty awarded to them after Jacob Mahler was adjudged to have fouled Gao Zhunyi in the box. Singapore felt the decision was harsh, but their appeals fell on deaf ears and Fernandinho stepped up to confidently place it past Hassan to give China the go-ahead goal.

Li Yuanyi was sent off in the 80^th minute after a terrible challenge on Joel Chew was rightly punished by the referee with a straight red card. That gave Singapore some hope of a comeback going into the closing stages of the match but as they pushed forward in search of an equaliser, they left gaps at the back for China to exploit.

Wu Lei picked up his second of the night as he scored the third goal for the hosts in the 85^th minute. Another quick break punished the Lions as Wu Lei raced away from the Singapore defence before curling a tidy finish into the far side of the goal. There was more to come for China in the 90^th minute as Wei Shihao made it 4-1 late on to the delight of the home fans.

Singapore ended the night with a painful loss on their travels in Tsutomu Ogura’s second match in charge but there will have been plenty of lessons learned from this experience as they continue their journey under their new head coach.

Photo credit: FAS