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Independent Singapore
12-08-2025
- Sport
- Independent Singapore
Singapore U20 women's team ended Asian Cup qualifying campaign with a loss
Photo: SINGAPORE: The Singapore U20 Women's Team has ended their AFC Under-20 Women's Asian Cup qualifying campaign with an unfortunate 3-1 loss against Hong Kong, China. Despite this, head coach Fazrul Nawaz encourages the national team to keep their chin up and carry the lessons and positive attitude that they had displayed in the campaign into their future games. With this, Nawaz expressed: 'They were brave to play the football that we wanted them to play. They showed fighting spirit and a 'never give up' attitude. They should bring these three things forward into the future, and they will get it one day… And once they get it, it will flow smoothly for the team.' During the game, Singapore still managed to score their first goal, all thanks to Geylang International midfielder Kyra Taylor. The athlete took the ball near the opponent's goal, where it eventually passed Hong Kong defender Cheng Tsz Tsing and went straight over to the goal. This is Singapore's first goal in the qualifiers. View this post on Instagram A post shared by FAS (@fasingapore) Nawaz admitted that the goal was a 'morale-booster' for the girls, especially after the difficulties that they had faced in the past two matches. Moreover, Kyra received a special commendation from Nawaz, stating that the athlete was not only a good leader, but she truly wanted to 'push the team to the next level.' 'I'm very happy because the girls are very united. They've stayed together, stayed positive, and have always maintained that positivity. To see them celebrate in that way was really pleasing for me,' Nawaz added. Given the performance of the team and the goals that he had set at the start, the head coach is eager to see the team's improvement in the future, if only they believe that they can get the results that they dreamed of. The head coach further stated: 'We must maintain that focus throughout the 90 minutes and not only during the moments, that's the thing that I felt that they need to improve on… And of course, to be responsible and to be accountable for their performance on the pitch.' On social media, Natasha Naszri shared her experience in the qualifiers. She remarked, 'Disappointing that we didn't win, but we came close. We didn't get the results that we wanted, but I think that the younger girls and everyone in the team did their best, and their effort was 100%. That was a kudos to them.' Naszri also added that this experience is a learning opportunity for the team and something to look back on as they prepare for the next campaign. View this post on Instagram A post shared by FAS (@fasingapore) () => { const trigger = if ('IntersectionObserver' in window && trigger) { const observer = new IntersectionObserver((entries, observer) => { => { if ( { lazyLoader(); // You should define lazyLoader() elsewhere or inline here // Run once } }); }, { rootMargin: '800px', threshold: 0.1 }); } else { // Fallback setTimeout(lazyLoader, 3000); } });
Independent Singapore
08-08-2025
- Sport
- Independent Singapore
Singapore U20 Women lost to Vietnam at the Asian Cup qualifying campaign, performance sparks optimism regardless
SINGAPORE: The Singapore U20 Women's Team unfortunately lost to Vietnam with a final score of 5-0 in the opening match of the AFC Under-20 Women's Asian Cup qualifying campaign. Despite the loss, Head Coach Fazrul Nawaz shows optimism for the squad's performance. 'Vietnam is a quality team and they have qualified for the U20 Asian Cup before – even their senior team has qualified for the FIFA Women's World Cup before. So, yes, the girls should be proud of their performance (against Vietnam)… Against this kind of team, especially in the first half, I thought we really fought well,' Nawaz said. On social media, Nawaz also remarked: 'I want to take the positives of the first half of how they played and how they created the chances. We had a few chances in the first half, even second half, yes, a bit less… So I want them to believe that they can do it, and play the football that they want to play in the second and third match.' Highlights of the game The national team started strong in the first half of the match and opened many opportunities to score a goal. However, they went into halftime losing by only one goal. Chantale Lamasan, Singapore's goalkeeper, has exhibited good defensive skills and stopped many shots. Their opponent scored their first goal in the 15th minute after the ball bounced back to the player–the ball went through even as Chantale tried to stop it. Throughout the match, Chantale made more saves so that Singapore could attack more. However, as Yuvika Suresh ran fast and passed down the ball to Sarah Zu'rishqa, who tried to make a shot, Vietnam's goalkeeper stopped it. After the halftime break, Vietnam then dominated the game by scoring two goals–one at the 48th minute mark and another at the 50th minute. Moreover, Vietnam scored two more goals by the end of the game and eventually clinched victory. With the girls' performance, Nawaz admitted that the team needs to 'maintain focus throughout the game' and that the team needs to fully concentrate on their decisions and actions as they play the 90-minute match. Netizens have mixed reactions to the results of the match. One expressed that Singapore should now be open for foreign athletes if they want to succeed: 'Vietnam is a country with over 100 million population, and they (the Vietnamese) are hungry for success. This is a good example of why Singapore needs to be open to foreign talents.' Another netizen expressed hope and addressed that the match could have ended much worse and that the girls could do better in the next matches. One more netizen admitted frustration and stated: '5-0 is not a hard fight, it is a poor performance. Run around the field and do not know what to do.. Lack of creativity and ideas.' The national team will now battle against the Kyrgyz Republic on August 8, 2025, at 5 p.m. SGT. See also Slingers' Ng Han Bin embers of passion for basketball
