Football: Singapore beat Maldives 3-1 in friendly ahead of crucial Asian Cup qualifier
SINGAPORE: Singapore beat Maldives 3-1 at the Bishan Stadium in an international friendly on Thursday (Jun 5).
A goal in the first half from Amirul Adli and an Ikhsan Fandi double put the Lions in the lead, before a late penalty from Ahmed Rizuvan reduced the deficit.
Singapore are three spots higher than the 164th-ranked Maldives in the FIFA rankings.
The Lions will face Bangladesh in a crucial 2027 Asian Cup third-round group C qualifier in Dhaka on Jun 10.
Singapore are grouped with Hong Kong, India and Bangladesh in the third round of the Asian Cup qualifiers. Each of the six group leaders will qualify for the 2027 Asian Cup.
Tsutomu Ogura's men only managed a 0-0 home draw against Hong Kong in March, while Bangladesh also held India to a goalless draw.
The Lions have never qualified for the Asian Cup on merit, with Singapore's only appearance coming as hosts in 1984.
The home side took an early lead in the eighth minute, courtesy of a header from Amirul after a looping corner from the left.
Ikhsan doubled the lead 13 minutes later after he pounced on poor marking to thump a header home. The powerful striker got his second in the 32nd minute after a good delivery from Song Ui-young off a free-kick.
But the Maldives were not without threat, as Ali Faser beat Izwan Mahbud but not the crossbar with a powerful shot just before the half.
Singapore came out after the interval looking sharper and could have gone four goals up in the 50th minute. Tidy play from substitute Kyoga Nakamura saw him dink a ball to Ikhsan but the striker headed over.
Nakamura was at the heart of all things good for Singapore and it was his ball across the box which found Faris Ramli, but the winger could only blaze over the crossbar.
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