"Start of a journey" as Lions take positives despite 1-3 loss to Thailand

Photo credit: FAS

Off the back of a 7-0 thumping by the mighty South Koreans, a dejected Singapore men’s national football team head coach, Tsutomu Ogura, apologised solemnly. 

“We should never give up, and we must try to have much more improvement,” he stated. 

While Ogura was absent from the Rajamangala National Stadium in Bangkok after testing positive for COVID-19, he would be encouraged to see his side put in an improved display despite losing 1-3 to Thailand on June 11.   

The first half started with the home side flying out of the blocks as the Thais pursued a place in the next round of World Cup Qualification. After a flurry of missed chances, the Thais came close to breaking the deadlock in the 27th minute, only for a splendid double save from Singapore custodian Hassan Sunny to deny Supachai Jaided from close range. The deadlock was finally broken 10 minutes later when a quick free-kick caught the Singaporean defence off guard. Theerathon Bunmathan’s ball over the top was met by Thai stalwart Chanathip Songkrasin, who set up Belgium-based Suphanat Mueanta for an easy tap-in. The away side found it difficult to match the game’s tempo in the first half. Ikhsan Fandi’s glancing header in the eighth minute was the Lions’ only shot on goal. 

Photo credit: FAS

With much rejuvenation required, the Lions brought on their own Belgium-based forward, Ilhan Fandi, at halftime.

Yet, the War Elephants picked up where they left off. Supachai miskicked his effort with a grateful Hassan easily collecting before Sarach Yooyen saw his volleyed attempt deflected off the upright.

But the Lions were determined to stake their claim in the game. Up the other end, Ikhsan latched on to his brother Ilhan’s header, only to rattle the ball into the side-netting. Ilhan had a chance of his own barely a minute later after some neat build-up play but saw his headed effort loop just wide. The away side finally made Thailand pay the price for their missed opportunities, as Ikhsan stunned the 39,000-strong crowd into silence by unleashing a thunderbolt from the edge of the box in the 57th minute. 

Needing to beat Singapore by at least three goals to secure qualification, Thailand continued their relentless attack, sending crosses into the box but failing to find a finishing touch. The Lions’ defensive resilience was finally breached in the 78th minute when substitute Poramet Arjvirai cut in from the left and curled his shot past an outstretched Hassan. Ikhsan had a golden opportunity to equalise just a minute later but placed his free header wide of the goal. Jaroensak Wonggorn then scored in the 86th minute, heading the ball into the net from close range to make it 3-1. Nur Adam Abdullah had a late chance in extra time to pull one back for Singapore, only to see his chip cleared off the line.

It was ultimately not enough for Thailand, as they narrowly missed advancing to the next round of the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers. The Lions, meanwhile, take home the positives from an improved second-half performance.

Speaking after the game, Lions assistant coach Gavin Lee, who filled in for Ogura, said: “We wanted to stay as close to (Thailand) as possible and we knew we would have our chances. The chances arrived but unfortunately, today we didn’t take them.

Photo credit: FAS

“There were some improvements in performance, but this is the start of a journey where we are trying to change our playing style. It will take time. It is obvious that the Thais are a step ahead of us and we definitely want to close that gap.

“All we can do is to keep going and make sure we close up the gap soon enough.”

The result against the Thais means that Singapore end their 2026 World Cup Qualifying campaign with one draw and five defeats, accumulating one point from six games. 

More importantly though, Ogura and his coaching team will take heart and look to build further from the improved attacking performances the team has shown over his tenure thus far.