Ilhan Fandi: 'Nice present for Singaporeans' as Lions target semi-finals against hungry Indonesia

A draw against Indonesia at a sold-out Jalan Besar Stadium on Friday (Aug 7) will send Singapore into the ASEAN Championship semi-finals, two days before the nation celebrates its 61st birthday.

For forward Ilhan Fandi, that would make for the perfect National Day present.

"We play football for the people, and of course it will be nice to give back to Singapore on her birthday," said the forward, who has scored two of Singapore's four goals in the tournament.

"We are here to do a job and to put up a good performance and try and qualify for the semi-final but to get a nice present for Singaporeans would be nice as well."

Singapore and world No. 99 Vietnam lead Group A on seven points, with world No. 118 Indonesia a point behind. The top two teams advance.

World No. 148 Singapore need only avoid defeat, while Indonesia must win.

The two final group matches kick off simultaneously, with Vietnam facing Cambodia, meaning that neither side at Jalan Besar can play the scoreboard.

Singapore coach Gavin Lee says the permutations will not alter his team's approach.

"We came into the competition saying that we wanted to allow our performance to determine our destination, and that shouldn't change tomorrow night," he said during the pre-match press conference on Thursday (Aug 6).

"I don't think we're going to allow the situation or the outcome to affect our game.

"We arrived here playing the way we want to play. Our identity and our football."

Singapore remained unbeaten in the tournament, having beaten Cambodia 2-1 and Timor-Leste 2-0 and holding defending champions Vietnam to a goalless draw in Hanoi on July 31.

Indonesia will be in the lion's den without Marselino Ferdinan, who is out for the rest of the tournament due to an injury sustained in training. Indonesia recently suffered a 3-0 defeat against Vietnam in Bogor on Aug 3. 

Coach John Herdman was in no mood to sound apologetic.

"If we don't make it, it's going to be very painful for us, because that opportunity slips through your fingers and never comes back," he said.

"This is a wounded and hungry Indonesian team. I ain't gonna mess around tomorrow."

The Englishman, who took Canada to the 2022 World Cup before succeeding Patrick Kluivert in Jakarta in January, expects an open contest.

"Timor played a defensive game against us. Vietnam played a defensive game against us. Cambodia played a defensive game against us, because we make them. That's our style," he said.

"Singapore, from what I've seen, are actually a positive team. They're very proactive. I've enjoyed doing some of the scouting. There are some good parts to their game. These are two teams that want to play football.

"Gavin's done a good job getting them playing good football. They have a lot of third-man patterns, it's nice to watch at times. For the fans, they should be proud of what their team does.

Lee expects the Garuda to chase the game from the first whistle.

"They're a good team. They're coming for the three points," he said.

"So for us to be able to stay calm and consistent throughout 95 minutes would be absolutely crucial."

He will be without midfielder Kyoga Nakamura, who is suspended after accumulating two yellow cards in the previous games.

"Definitely, we miss Kyoga's presence in midfield, but we have a squad of players who are ready to step in and step up," said Lee.

"It's about us recognising who is going to come in, what qualities he brings and how we maximise it as a group."

Singapore's defence, which has conceded just once in three matches, faces a different challenge in Mitchell Baker. The 19-year-old Australia-born forward has scored four goals, three of them on his international debut against Cambodia.

"Definitely a different profile. But when we were in Japan, we faced Japanese opposition who were as big, so that was good practice," said Lee.

"With the experience we have at the back with Hariss, we're in good and steady hands. Tomorrow it's not about defending one player, it's about defending the team."

Lee values the Lions' growth, in ways beyond the pitch. 

"With each window and each game, we also got a chance to see the impact that the players have made on the wider community," he said.

"For the boys, it means a lot to see the people really back them, and more people are coming out to give them the support. That's the growth of the team, and together with the fans, we grow together."

Ilhan put it more plainly. "We have grown massively. Every time I play for the country, it's a proud moment for me. This bunch of players we have, we really stick like a family, and that's one thing I think can't break us," he said.

"Even though we go one-nil down, we always show the character to come back. That's one thing we improved massively on. But we still have a lot of room for improvement."

After the goalless draw in Hanoi, Lee described Vietnam as a useful gauge of Singapore's progress on the grounds that they had also qualified for the Asian Cup. By that measure Indonesia will be another.

Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand have all qualified for the AFC Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia, which runs from Jan 7 to Feb 5, 2027.

"This is very important as we go towards our journey to the Asian Cup, because we know there will be bumps along the way, and during those bumps we need everybody's support," said Lee.

"We have grown, but we still want to continue growing, because in the end one of our milestones will be the Asian Cup. So we won't stop staying humble and hungry, and we try to achieve the best version we can every single window."

Whoever comes through Group A will not know their semi-final opponents until Group B concludes on Aug 8.

Before that, the Lions have a full house to play in front of, and a new Adidas kit to wear for the first time.

"The launch has allowed us to see that there are a lot of people who care about the national team," said Lee.

"People might say tomorrow is high pressure. Ilhan will tell you pressure is a privilege. Every time we step out there, we are representing the people who support us during the good times and the bad times.

"Tomorrow we get a chance to put on the new jersey in front of our full house, and we are desperate to go there and give everyone a new top memory."

Shafiq.apandi@asiaone.com