SINGAPORE – Bloodied and bruised after a physical battle in Dhaka, the Lions registered their first win of their Asian Cup third-round Group C qualifying campaign with a 2-1 win against Bangladesh on June 10.

World No. 161 Singapore were tested physically by Bangladesh and weathered a storm of aggressive tackles from the hosts who bit hard into 50-50 contests and committed several fouls that went unpunished by the referee.

But the Lions kept their cool, stuck to their tasks and did enough to secure the three points to top Group C on goals scored, ahead of Hong Kong, who secured a last-gasp 1-0 win over India at the Kai Tak Stadium with an injury-time winner.

Both Singapore and Hong Kong have four points each after two matches, while Bangladesh (third) and India (fourth) have a point apiece.

After spurning several chances, the Lions opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time to silence a fervent crowd of 21,317 at a sold-out National Stadium in Dhaka.

Bangladesh goalkeeper Mitul Marma looked to claim a ball in the air, but flapped under pressure from Lions defender Jordan Emaviwe. The ball then fell to Harhys Stewart who put it back into the danger area for Song Ui-young to net from close range, despite Bangladesh players’ efforts to clear off the line.

Lions forward Ikhsan Fandi scored the second goal in the 59th minute when he latched on to the ball and tucked it away under pressure after Hami Syahin’s shot was parried into his path by the goalkeeper.

Bangladesh then made it nervy for Singapore when they scored in the 68th minute through Rakib Hossain, whose shot squeezed under Izwan Mahbud after he was sent through on goal by Leicester City midfielder Hamza Choudhury, who had dispossessed Harhys in midfield.

But once again, as Bangladesh looked for an equaliser, calm heads prevailed as the Lions held on for victory.

The Lions had kicked off their Asian Cup third-round qualifying campaign with a 0-0 home draw against Hong Kong on March 25, while Bangladesh who at 183rd are the lowest-ranked team in the group, had showed their mettle by holding the group’s top-ranked team India (127th) in their opening match in Shillong on the same day.

Only the group winners will advance to the Asian Cup in 2027. 

There was a personal milestone to celebrate for the Lions as captain Hariss Harun equalled former Lions defensive stalwart Daniel Bennett’s all-time record of 142 caps.

Next up for the Lions in their Asian Cup qualifying campaign will ...