10-man Singapore fall 2-0 to Indonesia in FIFA ASEAN Cup opener

Lions defender Nur Adam Abdullah (right) taking on Indonesia’s Luke Vickery.

PHOTO: FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION OF SINGAPORE

Published Sep 25, 2026, 10:59 PM

Updated Sep 26, 2026, 01:43 AM

Singapore lost 2-0 to Indonesia in the FIFA ASEAN Cup opener, with defender Safuwan Baharudin sent off for denying a clear goal-scoring opportunity.

Indonesia, featuring many European-based players, dominated the match and secured victory with a penalty by Ole Romeny.

Singapore coach Gavin Lee praised his team’s resilience despite the red card and penalty, while Indonesia coach John Herdman highlighted the tough challenge of playing against his team in their home.

JAKARTA – Singapore made a poor start to the inaugural FIFA ASEAN Cup, with the Lions losing 2-0 to hosts Indonesia and having veteran defender Safuwan Baharudin sent off in their Group A opener on Sept 25.

With more of their naturalised players available, the hosts entertained with a fluid display of attacking football and lived up to their billing as tournament favourites.

As the competition is held during FIFA’s international window, teams faced no issues in getting their players released from their clubs, allowing Indonesia coach John Herdman to draw fully from their diaspora, many of whom ply their trade in the top European leagues.

In their starting XI, only two players were in the ASEAN Championship squad that failed to qualify for the semi-finals after being held 1-1 by Singapore in their final group game in August.

In came the likes of goalkeeper Maarten Paes (Ajax Amsterdam), skipper Kevin Diks (Borussia Monchengladbach) and forward Ole Romeny (Fortuna Sittard, on loan from Oxford United).

In front of 38,702 spectators at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta, the world No. 118 hosts settled into the game fast and created their first meaningful chance in the sixth minute.

A cross from Luke Vickery found Dean James, but the fullback failed to convert after the ball came off his shin.

The Lions, who are ranked No. 146, did not heed the early warnings as Vickery’s cross seven minutes later found Ragnar Oratmangoen, who slotted past a hapless Izwan Mahbud to send the home supporters into a frenzy.

As the Lions withstood wave after wave of Indonesian pressure for much of the first half, Ilhan Fandi cut a lone figure up front.

Oratmangoen nearly turned provider for the hosts on the stroke of half-time after finding Romeny, but the latter skewed his shot just wide of Izwan’s far post.

The first chance of the second half came to Lions substitute Song Ui-young, whose effort was comfortably saved by Paes.

But things got tougher as Safuwan was initially booked in the 68th minute for a tackle on striker Mitchell Baker.

But after a pitch-side monitor review, Uzbekistan referee Rustam Lutfullin changed his decision and handed Safuwan a red card instead for denying a clear goal-scoring opportunity.

From the resulting free-kick, Song was adjudged to have handled the ball in the area and Indonesia were awarded a penalty, which Romeny calmly slotted home.

Singapore coach Gavin Lee rued his side’s slow start, saying: “We know that they’re a strong team, it’s just a shame that... we didn’t trust ourselves enough from the get-go, from the first half.

“But I thought (in the) second half, we responded a lot better. We were more of ourselves, and then even despite going down to 10 men, we still kept knocking on the door, and that’s something that we should be proud of as well.”

Lee said that putting in an extra man in midfield in the second half worked quite well until the red card.

He added: “I cannot control what the referee does, but what I can speak about is how we responded. You know, I thought we are a side that never gave up, we never gave in, and that was very evident despite the sending off, despite the penalty, and these are the kind of values that are important to us that we need to retain all the way to the Asian Cup.”

Indonesia coach John Herdman said it was a different team that took on the Lions this time around, compared to the side which could only draw 1-1 at Jalan Besar Stadium a month ago.

The Englishman added: “We’re playing at home in our arena with our fans, and it was going to be tough for Singapore.

“So I thought they they lived (up to) their identity. They play an aggressive and attacking style, and I take my hat off to the coach. I think he’s done a wonderful job with that team, but to come here against this lot, that’s a tough, tough task for the majority of teams in ASEAN.”

In the other Group A match held earlier at the same venue, Malaysia beat invited side Bangladesh 3-0, with a brace from Arif Aiman and goal from Bergson.

Malaysia sit top of the group, level on points with Indonesia but ahead on goal difference, while Singapore are third and Bangladesh last.

The Lions will next take on Bangladesh at the same venue on Sept 28, while Indonesia host Malaysia.

Melvyn Teoh is a sports journalist at The Straits Times.

FAS/Football Association of Singapore

狮子队后卫努尔·亚当·阿卜杜拉（右）对阵印度尼西亚选手卢克·维克里。

照片：新加坡足球协会

发布于 2026 年 9 月 25 日晚上 10:59

更新于2026年9月26日凌晨1点43分

新加坡在 FIFA 东盟杯首场比赛中以 0-2 负于印度尼西亚，后卫萨夫万·巴哈鲁丁因阻止对方明显的进球机会而被红牌罚下。

印尼队拥有许多在欧洲踢球的球员，他们在比赛中占据了主导地位，并凭借奥莱·罗梅尼的点球取得了胜利。

新加坡队主教练李嘉文称赞球队在遭遇红牌和点球的情况下依然保持韧性，而印尼队主教练约翰·赫德曼则强调了在印尼队主场迎战他们的艰巨挑战。

雅加达——新加坡队在首届国际足联东盟杯上开局不利，9月25日A组首场比赛中，狮队以0-2负于东道主印度尼西亚队，老将后卫萨夫万·巴哈鲁丁被罚下场。

由于更多归化球员可以上场，东道主展现了流畅的进攻足球，不负众望，成为本届赛事的夺冠热门。

由于比赛是在国际足联的国际比赛日期间举行的，各队在从俱乐部释放球员方面没有任何问题，这使得印尼队教练约翰·赫德曼能够充分利用他们的海外侨胞，其中许多人在欧洲顶级联赛中踢球。

在他们的首发阵容中，只有两名球员曾参加过东盟锦标赛，该队在 8 月份的最后一场小组赛中被新加坡队 1-1 逼平，未能晋级半决赛。

门将马尔滕·帕斯（阿贾克斯阿姆斯特丹）、队长凯文·迪克斯（门兴格拉德巴赫）和前锋奥勒·罗梅尼（福图纳锡塔德，从牛津联租借）等人都加入了球队。

在雅加达格罗拉蓬卡诺体育场 38702 名观众面前，世界排名第 118 位的东道主迅速进入状态，并在第六分钟创造了他们的第一个有意义的机会。

卢克·维克里传中找到了迪恩·詹姆斯，但这位后卫在球击中他的小腿后未能得分。

排名第 146 位的狮队没有听取早期的警告，7 分钟后，维克里的传中找到了拉格纳·奥拉特曼戈恩，后者轻松将球打入可怜的伊兹万·马赫布德把守的球门，让主场球迷陷入了疯狂。

在上半场的大部分时间里，狮队顶住了印尼队一波又一波的猛攻，伊尔汗·范迪孤身一人在前场。

上半场即将结束时，奥拉特曼戈恩险些为东道主送出助攻，他找到了罗梅尼，但后者的射门稍稍偏出了伊兹万把守的远门柱。

下半场第一次机会属于狮队替补宋义荣，他的射门被佩斯轻松扑出。

但事情变得更加艰难，萨夫万在第 68 分钟因铲倒前锋米切尔·贝克而被出示黄牌。

但经过场边监视器回放后，乌兹别克斯坦裁判鲁斯塔姆·卢特富林改变了判罚，向萨夫万出示红牌，因为他阻止了一次明显的进球机会。

随后的任意球中，宋被判在禁区内手球犯规，印尼获得点球，罗梅尼冷静地将球罚入。

新加坡队教练李嘉文对球队开局慢热感到惋惜，他说：“我们知道他们是一支强队，只是很遗憾……从上半场开始，我们就没有足够信任自己。”

“但我认为下半场我们的表现好多了。我们更能发挥出自己的水平，即使少一人作战，我们仍然坚持不懈地进攻，这一点也值得我们骄傲。”

李表示，下半场在中场增加一名球员的效果非常好，直到出现红牌为止。

他补充道：“我无法控制裁判的判罚，但我可以谈谈我们的应对方式。你知道，我认为我们是一支永不放弃、永不屈服的球队，这一点在被罚下场、被判点球的情况下依然非常明显。这些价值观对我们来说至关重要，我们需要将它们保持到亚洲杯的决赛。”

印尼队主教练约翰·赫德曼表示，这次迎战狮队的队伍与一个月前在惹兰勿刹体育场仅以 1-1 战平的那支队伍截然不同。

这位英国人补充道：“我们是在自己的主场，在自己的球迷面前比赛，这对新加坡来说将会很艰难。”

“所以我认为他们不负众望。他们的比赛风格积极主动，充满进攻性，我非常佩服他们的教练。我认为他把这支球队带得很好，但是来到这里面对这样的对手，对东盟的大多数球队来说都是一项艰巨的任务。”

在同一场地早些时候进行的另一场 A 组比赛中，马来西亚队以 3-0 击败了受邀参赛的孟加拉国队，阿里夫·艾曼梅开二度，伯格森也攻入一球。

马来西亚目前位居小组榜首，与印度尼西亚积分相同，但凭借净胜球优势领先；新加坡排名第三，孟加拉国排名垫底。

狮队将于9月28日在同一场地迎战孟加拉国队，而印尼队将主场迎战马来西亚队。

Melvyn Teoh是《海峡时报》的体育记者。

新加坡足球总会