'Extra motivation' for Singapore's South Korean-born midfielder Song ahead of World Cup qualifier in Seoul
Song arrived in Singapore as an 18-year-old and attained citizenship in 2021.
Singapore's Song Ui-young at a training session on Nov 14, 2023. (Photo: FAS/Stefanus Ian)
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SEOUL: At the age of 10, Song Ui-young dreamt of becoming a professional footballer and playing for his national team.
Inspired by South Korea’s magical run at the 2002 World Cup which they jointly hosted with Japan, Song's wish was to one day represent the country and play at the Seoul World Cup Stadium.
Fast forward about two decades, and Song – now an established pro – will take to the field at the same stadium.
But he will be wearing the jersey of the away team, Singapore. It is a jersey which now represents home.
“Somehow, I made my dream (come true). To be honest, I really feel appreciative to Singapore and FAS (Football Association of Singapore),” Song, 30, told CNA in an interview at the Lions' hotel on Tuesday (Nov 14).
“What I can do for those who helped me and who gave me this opportunity (is that) I just put 100 per cent of my effort and work hard ... I’m ready to do my best for Singapore at this coming game.”
A LONG JOURNEY
Song arrived in Singapore as an 18-year-old and played for Home United – now known as Lion City Sailors – in the Prime League.
“I couldn’t speak English - I only knew 'yes' or 'no'," he said in a 2019 interview with this reporter.
Song struggled with communication with his teammates on the field and loneliness off it when he first arrived.
While he stayed in an apartment with assistant coach and compatriot Baek Jong-seok, Song found the going tough.
“I didn’t talk much to my family about my hardship because they would worry for sure. I didn’t want them to worry. So I would just share with my best friend in Korea,” he told CNA previously.
"If I went back to Korea, maybe I wouldn't need to feel this kind of thing. That’s why I wanted to give up. Sometimes I cried."
But Song made the effort to press on, and the first step in assimilating was to pick up the language.
After settling down, Song eventually applied for permanent residency in March 2018, but the application – his first – was rejected several months later. He eventually became a permanent resident in 2020 on his third attempt.
Song was granted Singapore citizenship in 2021. He was the first footballer to become a naturalised Singaporean since China-born striker Qiu Li about 10 years before.
The former Lion City Sailors midfielder now has 20 caps and four goals for Singapore. He signed for Indonesian side Persebaya Surabaya earlier this year after a stint in Thailand with Nongbua Pitchaya.
LIKE A KID AT A PICNIC
The Lions progressed to the second round of World Cup qualifying after beating Guam 3-1 over two legs.
While Guam are in 203rd place in the FIFA men's rankings, 155th-ranked Singapore now have to contend with Thailand (ranked 112th), China (ranked 79th) and South Korea.
It has been a mix of excitement and nerves for Song in the weeks leading up to the game – a clash which he has “extra motivation” for.
“Thinking about the game made me nervous and (also) smile (thinking about it),” he recalled. “It’s like childhood, when you wait for the picnic tomorrow."
It was a match he could not keep out of the forefront of his mind.
Song recalled an instance some time back where he found himself thinking about the match even in the early hours of the morning after waking up to go to the toilet.
“I was thinking to myself how to play this game, how to prepare (for it),” he added.
But now that the game coming up soon, he is feeling "more calm" and "very settled", said Song.
It isn’t just Song who is looking forward to the game. In the stands on Thursday will be about 30 family members and friends.
"My family knew that if we won against Guam then we would face South Korea.
"They supported me with extra effort and gave me some extra pressure (and told me): 'You have to win against Guam then we can watch the game (against Singapore)'," recalled Song, who usually returns to South Korea once a year to spend time with his family and best friend.
"Now that we are going to play against South Korea, they are very happy ... Most of them didn’t watch my football match for many years, I’m very happy to play football in front of them."
Singapore will be up against a star-studded South Korean squad ranked 24th in the world. The team boast the likes of Tottenham Hotspur’s Son Heung-min, Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Hwang Hee-chan, Paris Saint-Germain’s Lee Kang-in and Bayern Munich’s Kim Min-jae.
The Lions return home to play Thailand on Nov 21. The first two rounds of Asian Football Confederation (AFC) qualifying for the 2026 World Cup also serve as the first two stages of qualifying for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup.
The top two teams from each group will move on to the next round of the World Cup qualifiers and also qualify for the Asian Cup. The remaining teams will continue to play qualifying matches, but only for entry into the Asian Cup.
The Lions' subsequent qualifiers will be played next year. They will meet China at home on Mar 21 and away on Mar 26, before the return fixtures against South Korea and Thailand on Jun 6 and Jun 11 respectively.
Tickets for the evening match at the Seoul World Cup Stadium are sold out, according to the Korea Football Association.
“I’m excited, to be honest,” said Song. “I want to show a good performance as a Singapore national team player, and I believe that we can do it.”
It will be a special feeling to hear his name being announced before the game, said the midfielder.
“Finally I can hear the exact pronunciation of my name. It will be interesting and I think it will be the first time.”
Catch South Korea vs Singapore LIVE in the opening match of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifying Round 2 on Thursday, Nov 16, from 6.50pm on Mediacorp's Channel 5, mewatch and Mediacorp Entertainment on YouTube.
