After challenging Japan training camp, Gavin Lee’s Lions face ASEAN football championship test
Singapore begin their ASEAN Championship campaign against Cambodia on Friday (Jul 24).
Lions skipper Hariss Harun (left) and midfielder Joel Chew during the team’s training camp in Okinawa, Japan. (Photo: FAS)
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SINGAPORE: A two-week Japan training camp that pushed the Lions to their limits has helped them prepare for their next major test, the 2026 ASEAN Hyundai Cup, said head coach Gavin Lee.
Speaking to CNA on Tuesday (Jul 21), Lee said that matches during the Okinawa trip were designed to overload players going through their pre-seasons, as they learnt to deal with the tempo of better opposition for the full 90 minutes.
“That was something that we knew and we expected, and it was necessary for the boys to suffer,” he said.
“Our reference is the ASEAN Football Federation (championship). Everything we do is to prepare us for the AFF. And so hopefully what we went through, the suffering we went through, would bear fruit when we arrive at the (tournament).”
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During their Jul 6 to Jul 17 training camp, the Lions lost 0-2 to third-tier side FC Ryukyu and 2-3 to fourth-tier team Okinawa SV. They also played J2 League side Albirex Niigata in a closed-door friendly.
“We didn’t go to Okinawa for ‘easy’ – if we wanted easy, we would have stayed at home and played internal games or potentially regional games. We wanted things to be difficult,” said Lee.
“We wanted them to be exposed a little bit, to be uncomfortable, disappointed, frustrated … If we can expose them (to these experiences) and if we can adapt to that, when we come back, life should be a bit easier going into the competition.”
At the biennial regional tournament that kicks off later this week, the Lions have been grouped with Cambodia, Timor-Leste, Indonesia and Vietnam.
They have a packed start to the tournament with three matches in eight days.
“When it comes to tournament football, every game is a final,” said Lee. “Like it or not, it’s really one game at a time. It’s no point talking about where you want to end up, but you don’t get the job done now.”
Lee’s men open their campaign away to Cambodia on Friday, before a Jul 27 home game at Jalan Besar Stadium against Timor-Leste.
Singapore will then travel to Hanoi to face defending champions Vietnam on Jul 31, before their final group game with Indonesia on Aug 7.
The 2026 ASEAN Hyundai Cup – the 16th edition of the ASEAN Championship – will run from Jul 24 to Aug 26, with group stage matches to be played on a home-or-away single round-robin basis.
The tournament’s other group, Group B, comprises Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Myanmar and Laos.
AIMING FOR PROGRESS
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the ASEAN Championship.
Thailand are the most successful nation in the history of the competition, having been crowned champions of Southeast Asia seven times. The Lions have won the ASEAN Championship four times – in 1998, 2004, 2007 and 2012.
It is a tournament which holds many memories for local football fans, including Lee, who grew up watching some of these games.
“(How much the tournament means) is something I’m very aware of and that’s why I don’t take things for granted,” he said.
“At the same time, we also recognise contextually the challenges we have now compared to back then. Every country is improving, they are all improving in different ways.”
At the last edition of the tournament, the Lions, then coached by Tsutomu Ogura, made it to the semi-finals but bowed out after falling 5-1 on aggregate to eventual winners Vietnam.
Lee, who was then an assistant coach to Ogura, recalled how the tournament showed the Lions that they could compete with the likes of Vietnam and Thailand.
“That tournament was the first turning point which showed the players that actually we can compete, we’re not far,” he said.
Since then, the team has gone from strength to strength, and late last year qualified for the Asian Cup on merit for the first time in history.
Only three other Southeast Asian nations – Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia – will feature at the 2027 tournament.
A good showing at the ASEAN Championship could help continue the momentum.
“Internally, there’s this drive that, ‘look, we’ve done well and we want to keep going’,” said Lee. “We just want to continue to progress and build, build, build.”
Catch the ASEAN Championship 2026 from Jul 24 to Aug 26 live or on-demand on mewatch. Follow Mediacorp Sports on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and Facebook for the latest updates and trending content.
Source: CNA/mt(mi)
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