Faris Ramli in action against Maldives, 5 June 2025.
SINGAPORE, 6 JUNE 2025 – The Singapore Men’s National Team secured a 3-1 win over Maldives in a friendly on Thursday evening (5 June) with three headed goals — one from Amirul Adli and a brace from Ikhsan Fandi — sealing the victory for Singapore in front of a 2297-strong home crowd.
The win at the Bishan Stadium comes just five days before the Lions’ Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027™ Group C qualifier against Bangladesh in Dhaka.
While the Lions controlled possession throughout the 90 minutes in what was a morale-boosting win, Head Coach Tsutomu Ogura felt that there was still plenty of room for his side to improve on.
“I’m happy that we managed to score three goals and get the victory, but there are areas that we need to work on — especially our finishing,” said Ogura.
“A three-goal lead is not enough for me, as we need to keep on pushing to secure the result, and not let our opponents back into the game,” he added.
“This is the difference between a strong team and a normal team, and I want the team to carry this mentality into every game that we play.”
Amir Syafiz in action against Maldives, 5 June 2025.
Ogura included plenty of firepower in his starting lineup, with the likes of Ikhsan and Song Uiyoung returning to the team, while young forward Amir Syafiz was handed the first international cap of his career.
It was the 20-year-old debutant who sparked things up in the third minute of the game, drawing an early save from Maldives goalkeeper Hussain Shareef with a driven shot.
Singapore’s energetic start caused plenty of trouble for the Maldives’ backline, and it did not take long for them to find the breakthrough. In the seventh minute, Adli pulled free from his marker to power home a Song corner, for his first goal in a Singapore jersey.
Harhys Stewart was next to test Hussain, but his shot from range was comfortably gathered by Hussain.
Riding on that early momentum, the Lions quickly doubled their advantage. Picking the ball up on the left flank in the 19th minute, Harhys swung an inch-perfect ball into the box for Ikhsan to nod home his first goal of the night.
Despite losing Glenn Kweh to a 27th minute ankle injury, the Lions did not loosen their grip on the game. Just six minutes later, Ikhsan would nip ahead of Hussain to latch onto a whipped Song free kick, heading home his 20th international goal.
Ikhsan Fandi celebrates after scoring a goal against Maldives, 5 June 2025.
Heading into halftime in the driving seat, Ogura introduced Chris van Huizen and Kyoga Nakamura to replace Amir and Irfan Najeeb. Nakamura would have an immediate impact, as he sent a shot wide of the goal just two minutes into the second half.
Ikhsan was then afforded a golden opportunity to complete his hat-trick in the 48th minute, but the forward could not keep his close-range effort down.
As the Maldives grew into the game, Ali once again proved to be that ever-present threat for the Lions. Midfielder Aisam Ibrahim would find the forward unmarked in the box in the 54th minute, but Ali blazed his shot over the bar with the goal at his mercy.
Even with a three-goal lead, the Lions pushed men forward in search of more goals. However, that fourth goal proved elusive, with a series of chances wasted by the home side.
On the hour mark, a pinpoint ball from Nakamura found the feet of van Huizen, who delivered a low driven cross into the box for Song — who saw his effort rattle the outside of the Maldives post.
With Nakamura once again at the heart of things, a quick swivel and turn from the midfielder in the 68th minute created an opening for Faris Ramli, but the 32-year-old sent his close-range effort flying over the bar.
Safuwan Baharudin at the post-match press conference, 5 June 2025.
There would be no clean sheet for the Lions when Safuwan Baharudin conceded a late penalty after he was adjudged to have tripped substitute Hassan Nazeem in the box. The stoppage-time spot kick was then cooly dispatched by Ahmed Rizuvan.
Speaking after the final whistle, Safuwan insisted that there was still much work ahead for the Lions, as he quickly shifted his focus to his side’s crucial Asian Cup qualifier against Bangladesh.
Group C is finely poised with Singapore, Bangladesh, India and Hong Kong, China all tied on 1 point, after one match. Only the respective group winners will secure a spot at the 24-team AFC Asian Cup in 2027.
“We are not fully satisfied because it wasn’t a smooth game for us towards the end. We are going to analyse the match over the next few days to identify the areas we need to improve on,” said Safuwan.
“We know that Bangladesh is going to be a tough opponent as they have quality players. However, we have quality in our team too, and we will do our best to get a result there.”
The Lions’ depart for the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka on 7 June looking for a result that will help them qualify from a tightly-contested Group C.
FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION OF SINGAPORE
