Brazil and Japan to face off in Kallang

FIVE-TIME World Cup winners Brazil and Asian champions Japan are set to thrill football fans when they meet in an international friendly at the new National Stadium on Oct 14.

The likes of Barcelona forward Neymar and Manchester United playmaker Shinji Kagawa could very well be gracing the Kallang pitch with their exquisite skills.

This will be the first time Brazil's famous national team will be playing in Singapore, although its Under-23 side did play a friendly match here en route to taking part in the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

Said Mr Malcolm Thorpe, vice-president of sports development and events at event organiser World Sport Group (WSG): "WSG is thrilled to be staging this blockbuster match... this will be another historic event for Singapore."

The match will be played less than two months after the Aug 16 clash between Juventus and a Singapore Selection side - the first football match to be played at the new stadium at the Singapore Sports Hub.

Brazil are coached by their 1994 World Cup-winning captain Dunga, who replaced Luiz Felipe Scolari last month.

Japan are coached by Mexican Javier Aguirre, appointed last month after his Italian predecessor Alberto Zaccheroni resigned, following a winless World Cup.

The line-ups will be decided by the respective coaches, and there is no deal in place to ensure the appearance of a particular player.

Still, local fans are excited at the prospect of seeing two popular international teams in action.

Said Mr Lee Ee Pin, 24, an engineer: "As a Singaporean, I'm delighted and honoured to see these big teams playing in Singapore... I hope we can attract more of such superstars here."

Ticket details will be released at a later date.

This article was first published on August 8, 2014.
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