National Team - Lions ● Jul 17, 2019
Lions to face Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia in 2022 World Cup qualifiers
SINGAPORE, 17 JULY 2019 – Singapore has been drawn in Group D for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ and Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup 2023 Preliminary Joint Qualification Round 2.
The Lions will face Yemen, Palestine, Uzbekistan and Saudi Arabia in the group stage, which will commence during the FIFA international window on 5 September.
The draw ceremony took place at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, which saw Australia legend Tim Cahill conduct the draw.
Yemen will be first-time opponents for Singapore, who were grouped with Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan in 2008 for the third round of 2010 World Cup qualifying. The Lions last played Palestine in 2007.
National Team coach Tatsuma Yoshida, who attended the ceremony with team manager Eric Ong, said: “We have got a tough group, in particular being drawn against Uzbekistan, who are one of the strongest teams from Pot 2. It’s a big challenge for us but it’s one we are looking forward to and we hope to have Singapore fans join us on this journey.”
The eight group winners and four best runners-up will advance to the third round and qualify for the 2023 Asian Cup. The other four runners-up, eight third-placed teams, and best fourth-placed teams progress to the third round of Asian Cup qualifying. The remaining teams will contest a play-off round for the final Asian Cup slots.
