SINGAPORE - It has been billed as the "Group of Death" but Singapore coach Tatsuma Yoshida has called on the Lions to make full use of their early home ground advantage in next month's 2022 Fifa World Cup and 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup qualifiers.
The Republic open their Group D campaign against Yemen on Sept 5 at the National Stadium before taking on Palestine five days later at the Jalan Besar Stadium. They then travel to Buraidah to face Saudi Arabia on Oct 10 before welcoming Uzbekistan at the National Stadium on Oct 15.
Tickets for the three home matches will go on sale from 9am on Wednesday (Aug 21) at sportshub.com.sg.
Yoshida, who took charge of the Lions in May, said: "I have been raring to start this qualifying campaign ever since the draw was made one month ago.
"It is important for us to do well in our home matches in order to stand a chance of progressing to the next stage of qualifying for not just the World Cup but also the Asian Cup.
"We must make our home advantage count and this can only be achieved if we have strong support from the stands, which will be invaluable in our quest.
"While our group is a challenging one, a vociferous home atmosphere would make the key difference and will undoubtedly spur our team on."
Singapore are world No. 162 and the lowest ranked side in their group. The Lions have often struggled against Middle Eastern and central Asian teams, who are bigger and technically superior, and have never beaten Saudi Arabia (world No. 68) and Uzbekistan (No. 84).
They have not played Yemen (No. 142) before, but have a favourable record of three victories, one draw and one loss against Palestine (No. 102), with their last meeting - a 4-0 Lions win - coming in 2007.
Singapore Sports Hub chairman Bryn Jones said: "This is a great opportunity for Singaporeans and football fans to come support our national team at the qualifiers matches."
