It was goals galore for Singapore’s Under-17 women as 14-year-old striker Risya Rizqyqa’s hat-trick powered the hosts to an 11-0 win over the Northern Mariana Islands in the AFC Under-17 Women’s Asian Cup qualifier on 15 October 2025.
Singapore Head Coach Matias Martinez was pleased with the way his charges applied sustained pressure in the Group E qualifier at the Bishan Stadium in the second half, despite having already built a comfortable 3-0 first-half lead.
“We set out to try to penetrate the opposition’s last line, which we struggled to do in the first half. In the second half, we made a few adjustments to our midfield. The midfielders moved around a bit more and were more mobile in receiving, which helped them penetrate the opposition defence,” Martinez said.
The introduction of winger Yuvika Suresh and central midfielder Liyana Rickit at half-time sparked a second-half goal blitz, with Singapore going on to score eight more times.
Singapore drew first blood when Naureen Qadriyah’s header bounced in off the post just three minutes after kick off. Northern Mariana Islands goalkeeper Hailey Benavente was stretchered off immediately following that passage of play after aggravating an old knee injury.
With the visitors opting to play a high defensive line, Naureen later found herself one-on-one with substitute goalkeeper Jacqueline Cepeda, but her effort was eventually ruled out for offside.
Continuing to exploit gaps in the opposition backline, Risya timed her run in the 33rd minute perfectly to slip through and double Singapore’s advantage.
Fullback Tessa Ng and IMG Academy forward Verona Lim combined well down the right channel for the hosts, exchanging passes and creating several openings from that flank.
The National Development Centre (NDC) defender eventually found a way through when she cut in from the right, and a heavy touch worked to her advantage as opposition goalkeeper Jacqueline stayed rooted to her line, leaving the goal open for an easy finish.
The Singapore side came out of the break with greater attacking intent, eager to widen the goal difference.
Defender Calista Dodson added the team’s fourth goal of the night in the 53rd minute, before Risya wrapped up her treble with two quickfire goals.
The fleet-footed Yuvika caused the Northern Mariana Islands’ defence all sorts of problems after coming on, helping herself to a brace while strikes from Verona, Liyana and Ayla Chin rounded off the win.
As the clock wound down, Northern Mariana Islands’ midfielder Ha Ye Lynn made a rare foray into the Singapore defensive third but could only send her shot off target under pressure from Singapore defender Syaizta O. Izan.
Risya is hoping to carry over confidence from this victory into what is now an all-important final Group E qualifier against Australia on Friday, 17 Oct.
“I was struggling in the first half because my stamina wasn’t up to my expectations. But as soon as the second half came, I felt the motivation from my coaches and teammates to do better, and I pushed myself to the 90th minute,” said player-of-the-match Risya, despite nursing cramps late into the game.
“Going into the next game, I feel my confidence is at a level where I can push myself even harder and perform even better than I did today,” she added.
As he turned his attention to recovery and preparation for Friday’s clash against the much-vaunted Aussies, Martinez called for mental resilience.
“We all want to qualify. We know Australia is going to be a very complicated team… There are things that we will work to do to see how we can counter Australia’s game and try to nullify their strengths as well. We’re under no illusions that it’s going to be a tough game. But we’re going to look to see what we can bring to the table,” he said.
“We need to try to match their competitiveness and try to have a winning mentality as well. Not just from the scoreline, but making sure that we’re remaining competitive throughout the match.”
Tickets for the final Group E clash between Australia and Singapore are available on Ticketek.
