SINGAPORE: It’s not often Singapore’s national football team sells out the National Stadium . Of course, not all 49,097 fans at the World Cup qualifier against South Korea on Thursday (Jun 6) were there to watch the Lions. South Korean captain and superstar Son Heung-min would be used to booing from the opponent’s stands - he gets treated to more colourful language in the English Premier League week after week.
But perhaps the cheering was a surprise: Support for his national side was audible from all sections of the stadium. There’s good reason the fans are called the 12th man. They are supposed to roar with every crunching tackle, applaud every shot and cheer every save, giving players a boost to forget their tired legs or to keep up their fighting spirit.
Home advantage was especially important given that the odds were heavily stacked against the Lions. Singapore is currently ranked 155th in the FIFA World Rankings; South Korea sits on 23rd and already took Singapore down 5-0 in Seoul in November 2023. A win against the Asian giant may have been a fanciful possibility; a draw optimistic.
Even a valiant, narrow defeat would have us fighting to the end. The Lions fell 7-0 . But still, I cheered.
CHEERING OURSELVES HOARSE I was part of the SingaBrigade that night - a singing, chanting group of fans that aims to support the Lions and create an atmosphere at every Lions game. The group was in full voice, and our spirit never flagged, even as the goals went in one after .
