Singapore coach wants to shock U23 Vietnam

At Viet Tri Stadium this afternoon, Singapore was rated higher, and opened the score thanks to Farhan Zulkifli's penalty. But in the 88th minute, they let Guam equalize 1-1 from Riki Meyar's header. This result makes Singapore's chances of qualifying for the 2024 U23 Asian qualifiers still very small.

"I'm very disappointed," coach Nazri said. "We controlled the game, but if we lost concentration for just one second, everything would be lost."

Singapore has one point equal to Guam but ranked third due to better goal difference (-3 vs -6). They are five points behind Vietnam and two points behind Yemen. In the final round, they need to win against host Vietnam to maintain hope of continuing as one of the four second-place teams with the best results.

"The chance is still very small but we don't give up," coach Nazri said. "Meeting Vietnam is not easy but we will fight to achieve the best results."

In the last meeting, Singapore lost 1-3 to Vietnam in the group stage of SEA Games 32. They also faced the risk of losing striker Abdul Rasaq Ishiekwene due to injury in the Guam match. In the five previous U23 Asian tournaments, Singapore has never won the right to participate in the final round.

The 2024 Asian U23 qualifying round takes place in September 2023, with 43 teams divided into 11 groups. The group of players participating in the tournament will be born from January 1, 2001 onwards. Teams compete in a round robin, calculate points, select the top 11 teams and four high-achieving teams along with host Qatar to attend the final round.