Singapore will go for win against Hong Kong, 'not entertaining' thought of draw: Gavin Lee
Lee's counterpart Ashley Westwood similarly said that his team are thinking about "nothing but winning".
Ilhan Fandi and the rest of the Lions at a training session on Nov 17, 2025. (Photo: Football Association of Singapore)
This audio is generated by an AI tool.
HONG KONG: Singapore will go for the win against Hong Kong in a winner-takes-all Asian Cup qualifier and not just be satisfied with one point, said Lions interim head coach Gavin Lee on Monday (Nov 16).
Speaking at a pre-match press conference at the Kai Tak Stadium, Lee said that, like the hosts, Singapore want the victory on Tuesday.
"That's a valid question, but be honest, we're not entertaining it," said Lee in response to a question on whether he would be satisfied with a point which would keep both teams in the running to make the Asian Cup.
"Just like Hong Kong, we're here tomorrow night to finish the job, to deliver the performance, and with that, hopefully bring that three points home."
If the Lions beat the hosts, they will qualify for the tournament on merit for the first time.
With four games played, Hong Kong top the group with eight points, followed by Singapore, also with eight. Both sides have the same goal difference, but Hong Kong has scored one goal more.
Bangladesh and India each have two points.
Under the tournament's regulations, head-to-head results take precedence over goal difference in tiebreaking when teams are level on points.
This means that the winner of the Singapore-Hong Kong clash will qualify for the Asian Cup.
Should the crunch clash finish in a draw, qualification will come down to results on the final matchday, where Singapore host Bangladesh and Hong Kong play India away.
Speaking to reporters, Lee's counterpart Ashley Westwood described the Lions as a side "very equal" to Hong Kong, but his team are thinking about "nothing but winning".
"We're in control of our own levels of commitment, our own levels of desire, our own levels of preparation, and I can assure you we've done everything we can ... to be prepared as well as possible," said the Englishman.
"We're entering an unknown, which is football. But we're confident. We don't feel any pressure because pressure is what we live for. We want to play in big moments, big games ... and we're doing everything for Hong Kong ... to get a result and move forward."
The Lions' only appearance at an Asian Cup was in 1984, with an automatic qualification as the host nation of that year's tournament.
QUALIFICATION NOT AN "EXPECTATION": WESTWOOD
The Lions will also be up against fervent home support, with tickets allocated for the Hong Kong supporters at the 50,000-seater stadium sold out in under 80 minutes last Friday. Tickets were reportedly being resold for up to seventeen times their original price.
About two thousand Singapore fans are expected to cheer their team on.
"We are very grateful that the fans have chosen to spend their hard-earned (money) to come and support us," Football Association of Singapore (FAS) deputy president Desmond Ong told CNA on Sunday.
"The boys are really, really touched ... but more important than that, apart from expressing their gratitude, we want them to be safe. If for any reason they encounter any sort of difficulty while they're here, please do not hesitate to get in touch with someone from the FA, and we'll do our best to try and ensure their safety."
Singapore's path to the Asian Cup has had its share of ups and downs. After a stalemate against Hong Kong at home and a 2-1 win over Bangladesh in Dhaka, the Lions dominated India at home in October but conceded a late equaliser.
"It was a tough game, they gave us problems," said Westwood of the 0-0 draw with Singapore. "It was a complete 50-50 game; nil-nil was fair. We didn't deserve to lose (and) I don't think they did."
Their qualifying hopes appeared to dim. But then came a hard-fought 2-1 triumph in India and Hong Kong's surprise 1-1 home draw with Bangladesh.
"When the group came out 10,12 months ago, India was highly ranked. We managed to win some games to get us into pot two, very closely ranked with Singapore that are very equal to us and a really improving Bangladesh side," said Westwood.
"I thought the group was probably the toughest. Everything is very tight and it's still tight."
Westwood added that there is "no expectation" that Hong Kong will go through, given that they were close to 160th in the FIFA rankings when he took charge of the team.
"We've got expectations of ourselves, but we should be proud to be where we are," he added.
"But for me, there's no expectation. There's expectations for us to perform to the highest levels, and we'll try and do that."
