After nearly 80 minutes of relentless effort at the United Arab Emirates’ 321 Sports Arena on Saturday night (25 October 2025), it took a single, decisive strike for Saudi Arabia to claim victory over the Singapore Women’s National Team.
The narrow defeat – in the first of two international friendlies to be played in the UAE capital of Abu Dhabi – came despite a determined and disciplined performance from the Lionesses, who displayed good link-up play and created chances on goal.
Singapore Women’s Head Coach Karim Bencherifa was encouraged by the intensity and organisation he saw from his charges.
“The effort from the team overall was positive. The first half was difficult, but the second half was much improved – there was energy in the press, we created chances, and remained competitive until the Saudi goal in the final ten minutes,” said the 57-year-old.
Right from the get go, Saudi Arabia pressed , creating early chances and keeping goalkeeper Hazel Lim on high alert
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Singapore gradually found their rhythm, demonstrating composure in possession and determination in duels, but Saudi Arabia controlled the ball for long periods and launched several threatening attacks, including a close-range strike in the 61st minute that went just wide.
Despite the Lionesses’ resilience, a lapse in concentration in the 80th minute allowed Saudi Arabia’s Seba Tawfiq to thread a precise pass to teammate Albandari Mubarak, who slotted past Hazel to score the only goal of the match.
“The hard work was always there, and the resilience to keep going when the goal went in,” said 29-year-old defender Lim Li Xian.
“I saw the hunger in the team – each and every player wanted to get back the ball and get that into the goal.”
It’s now back to the drawing board for Bencherifa, who reflected on areas for improvement.
He said: “We made some individual errors in dangerous areas, which we will review in our video session. With three days to prepare, we aim to approach the next game with greater focus and turn the result in our favour.”
The match also marked milestones for the squad: defenders Angelyn Pang and Siti Wan Nabilah returned to international action after seven and six years respectively, while 17-year-old Sharifah Nur Amanina made her senior debut.
The Lionesses face the same opponents again on Wednesday, 29 October, 11pm Singapore Time at 321 Sports Arena.
