SINGAPORE: As the Lions start a year-long campaign to qualify for the Asian Cup for the first time, head coach Tsutomu Ogura has made several changes to his squad.

Among them, striker Ilhan Fandi has been recalled from Thailand – where he plays for BG Pathum United in the Thai League 1 – to join the national football team’s lineup against Hong Kong at the National Stadium on Tuesday (Mar 25).

It will be their first Group C match of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers.

As a warm-up, the Lions will play Nepal in a friendly match on Friday.

Ogura told CNA that he is “not satisfied” with the team’s performance despite reaching the semi-finals of the ASEAN Championship late last year, to the surprise of many.

Singapore failed to make the finals after losing 1-3 to Vietnam, who prevailed to become champions.

“We must improve in many things,” said Ogura.

“We are not satisfied. No one is satisfied with (the ASEAN Championship) … if we had (a better) performance, we would join the final, maybe (we would have become) champions.”

The Japanese coach added that the team wants to make history in their upcoming qualifying campaign.

“We are now at zero … It's a zero that needs to become one. It’s very difficult; it's a real big challenge. But starting now, we are challenging (ourselves). The players are gaining motivation,” he said.

Nevertheless, Ogura acknowledged the difficulties they face, given how the games are spaced apart in different months within the upcoming year.

“In each window, we must get points. Only in one year, the result will come, so we will try to base it window by window,” he added.

“VERY PROUD OF THE BOYS”

Ilhan – who missed out on the ASEAN Championship as he had not been released by his club, where he plays with his brother Ikhsan – said he is now eager to make up for lost time.

“Watching from the outside, I was very proud of the boys. I think they did a fantastic job. I think we shouldn’t be ashamed that we (exited) the tournament in the semi-finals against the champions,” he added.

“If we can bring the momentum to this campaign, I think it will be fantastic.”

He pointed to some “really good” individual performances as well as Singapore’s group fixture against Thailand in the tournament.

Despite the Lions’ 4-2 loss, Ilhan said: “I think everyone can agree with me that they put on a massive performance.”

As for the Asian Cup qualifiers, the forward said that while he has not worked much with Ogura, the coach “instils a lot of discipline and high-pressing game”.

“For me, I just have to adjust, and it's fine for me. As a player, I'm just going to try and do my best, do my job, try and score goals and assist and, most importantly, help the team,” he added.

“Even if I don't score but the team goes to the Asian Cup, I'm more than happy. I think if we stick together as a team … and just fight for one another, we can go really far.”

For defender Akram Azman, he expressed excitement over his first call-up to the national team.

Akram said that when he is with the Lions, he would shift his focus away from club duties and “do my best”. The 24-year-old currently plays for Singapore Premier League side Lion City Sailors.

“I don’t really have in-depth knowledge in terms of how coach Ogura works around his tactics, but I’m just here to learn as much as I can,” he added.

Meanwhile, Cardiff City defender Perry Ng, who has applied for Singapore citizenship via the Foreign Sports Talent Scheme, is also training with the squad. However, he will not play in the Asian Cup qualifiers yet.

Under FIFA rules, the 28-year-old qualifies to play for Singapore through his late paternal grandfather, who was born in Singapore but later moved to Liverpool in the United Kingdom.

But under Singapore citizenship rules, Ng can only qualify for a passport by descent if at least one parent was born in the country or is a citizen by registration.

Ng has also applied for permanent residency. The Football Association of Singapore said there is no update on this as yet.

Ogura said that having Ng train with the Lions and share his experience with the team will greatly benefit the players.

“For us, it’s a very good experience – players playing together, training together, eating together,” he added.

Catch the international friendly football match between Singapore and Nepal on Friday (Mar 21) live at 8.30pm (SGT) on mewatch.