They drew 2-2 against China and lost three – twice against South Korea and once against Thailand.
Singapore's Footballers Preparation and Strategies for Big Games
The Lions will also play two training matches at home ahead of the ASEAN Football Federation Championship, which starts in December.
SINGAPORE FOOTBALL TEAM
Singapore men’s football team will play against top Japanese league sides instead of international friendlies ahead of the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Championship, the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) announced on Wednesday (Aug 28).
The Lions will play two home training matches in September. They will head to Japan for a training camp the following month, with three friendlies against J1 League clubs lined up.
The matches in September will be against BG Tampines Rovers and Malaysia’s Johor Darul Ta’zim on Sep 6 and 7. Both matches will be played behind closed doors at Kallang Football Hub.
A total of 28 players have been called up for centralised training. Hougang United’s Ajay Robson and Geylang International striker Zikos Chua earned first call-ups to the senior side.
BIG STEP OF NATIONAL TEAM
The next FIFA international window will be from Sep 2 to 10, but to “work hand-in-hand” with clubs in managing their schedules, players’ commitments to the national team will end on Sep 8, said FAS.
After the Japan training camp in October, the Lions will play international friendlies against Myanmar and Chinese Taipei in November.
Speaking to the media at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Wednesday, head coach Tsutomu Ogura said this would be the “best” preparation for the AFF Championship, which will be held from Dec 8 to Jan 5.
Efforts were made to search for international sides that matched training objectives but none were available, said an FAS spokesperson.
The priority in September is a week of centralised training and bedding in new players, said Ogura.
Games against the Japanese teams in October will provide the Lions with top-level competition and also get newer players used to the rigours of travel between games.
Ogura was unveiled as head coach in February. He is the third consecutive Japanese coach to take charge of the Lions.
Since his appointment, Singapore have played in four competitive fixtures – all World Cup qualifiers.
NEED TO PRODUCE BETTER YOUTH PLAYERS
Last month, Singapore’s Under-19s were eliminated in the group stage of the ASEAN Under-19 Boys Championship. Fadzuhasny Juraimi’s side finished with two losses (2-1 to Thailand and 5-0 to Malaysia) and a 2-0 win against Brunei.
The U-19s will take part in the AFC U-20 Asian Cup qualifiers next month where they will face hosts Qatar, Jordan and Hong Kong.
Speaking on Wednesday, technical director Michael Browne said there were positives to take away from the competition, but admitted that there is a need to “produce better players”.
“That is not a criticism of the players that we currently have, it is not saying that they are not good enough. But the system they have come through, we haven’t produced players at the right level,” he said.
What is important is for players to have opportunities to play at the “right level” more often, said Browne.
NEED TO PRODUCE BETTER YOUTH PLAYERS
A short-term way to do that is for the U-19 players to play three training matches with Singapore Premier League teams in mid-September to prepare for their Asian Football Confederation (AFC) tournament. Each match would have three periods of 45 minutes, he added.
“What we’re trying to do in the lead-up to the AFC is to ensure that players that will be involved will play longer in these games,” he said.
Moving forward, it could mean raising the “level” of the Under-21 league by possible tweaks to its structure or format, he added.
Browne was named technical director in Jul 2022 and had his contract extended recently by a year.
His role is to “oversee the development of Singapore football in all aspects, which includes being responsible for the preparation and implementation of local football development plans”, FAS said previously.
“There are four main ingredients to developing players. One is talent identification, quality of training, quantity of training and games programming … What we’re trying to do now is to put into place structures that will enable that to happen, then we’ll produce better players,” he said.
This transformation will not happen overnight, he added, giving the example of Qatar about two decades ago.
Browne spent 10 years in Qatar, working as head coach of the country’s Aspire Academy. He was involved in different roles there, including being head of national team scouting.
He added: “It is possible, but … it’s important to get the right structures in place, give it time to work. And I think it will work.”