| Nickname(s) | The Lions | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Association | Football Association of Singapore (FAS) | ||
| Confederation | AFC (Asia) | ||
| Sub-confederation | AFF (Southeast Asia) | ||
| Head coach | Tsutomu Ogura[1] | ||
| Captain | Hariss Harun | ||
| Most caps | Daniel Bennett (146)[2] | ||
| Top scorer | Fandi Ahmad (55)[3] | ||
| Home stadium | National Stadium | ||
| FIFA code | SGP | ||
| |||
| FIFA ranking | |||
| Current | 162  1 (24 October 2024)[4] | ||
| Highest | 73 (August 1993) | ||
| Lowest | 173 (October 2017) | ||
| First international | |||
 Singapore 1–0 Republic of China  (Singapore; 22 May 1948)[5] | |||
| Biggest win | |||
 Singapore 11–0 Laos  (Kallang, Singapore; 15 January 2007) | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
Singapore 0–9 Burma  (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; 6 November 1969)[6] | |||
| Asian Cup | |||
| Appearances | 1 (first in 1984) | ||
| Best result | Group stage (1984) | ||
| ASEAN Championship | |||
| Appearances | 14 (first in 1996) | ||
| Best result | Champions (1998, 2004, 2007, 2012) | ||
The Singapore national football team[a] represents Singapore in the senior men's international football. It is organised by the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), the governing body of football in Singapore, which is affiliated with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the regional ASEAN Football Federation (AFF). The team's colours are red and white. Singapore are colloquially known as "The Lions", an animal of prominent symbolic nature to the country.[8] Singapore has one of the oldest national teams in Asia, with the FAS being the oldest football association in the continent itself.[9]
Despite the country having a small population pool, it has historically punched above its weight by successively producing squads that has fiercely competed with its larger and much more populated neighbours. This can be seen in its most significant successes, which have come in the regional AFF Championship, whereby Singapore had won four times in 1998, 2004, 2007, and 2012. Singapore was the first team to achieve this feat and the only team to win in all the finals that they had played. In 1998, Singapore defeated Vietnam in the final to capture the country's first major international football title. In the 2004–05 competition, Singapore defeated Indonesia in a two-leg final 5–2 on aggregate. Singapore retained the trophy in 2007, beating Thailand 3–2 on aggregate in the final. In 2012, Singapore won the trophy a record 4th time, again defeating three-time champions Thailand 3–2 on aggregate in the final.
Singapore has also achieved notable results beyond its sub-confederation. In the 2007 AFC Asian Cup qualification, Singapore became the only team to beat Iraq where Iraq was en route to their Asian Cup-winning campaign. Singapore also drew with China 0–0, 1–1, and 2–2 at home in 2006, 2009 and 2024 respectively. In March 2008, Australia also failed to beat Singapore when the game ended in a goalless draw. During the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, Japan was held to a draw at home at the Saitama Stadium by Singapore, being the only game where they had dropped points in the group. Singapore also notably managed to get good results against UEFA continent against Kazakhstan on 24 December 2006 which resulted in a 0–0 draw and Azerbaijan which ended in a 2–2 draw on 24 February 2012.
- ^ "Tsutomu Ogura takes over reins of Singapore National Team". FAS. 1 February 2024.
- ^ Daniel Mark Bennett - Century of International Appearances Archived 9 December 2022 at the Wayback Machine, rsssf.org
- ^ Morrison, Neil. "Fandi Ahmad – Century of International Appearances". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 30 January 2010.
- ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Men's World Ranking". FIFA. 24 October 2024. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
- ^ "Singapore matches, ratings and points exchanged". World Football Elo Ratings: Singapore. Archived from the original on 25 March 2018. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
- ^ "World Football Elo Ratings: Singapore". World Football Elo Ratings. 30 April 2005. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
- ^ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 21 November 2024. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
- ^ "National Team - The Lions". fas.org.sg. Football Association of Singapore. Archived from the original on 8 December 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
- ^ Ng, Huiwen (29 August 2014). "Flashback Friday: Singapore Amateur Football Association founded on Aug 29, 1892". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 24 November 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
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