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World No. 173 — Singapore football sinks to all-time low

SINGAPORE — Fifa rankings for the Singapore national football team has sunk to an all-time low of 173rd spot, two places below their previous low of No 171 set last October, and again in August this year.

The Lions are now the second-lowest ranked side in South-east Asia, just above Timor Leste who are in 192nd spot. TODAY File Photo

The Lions are now the second-lowest ranked side in South-east Asia, just above Timor Leste who are in 192nd spot. TODAY File Photo

SINGAPORE — Fifa rankings for the Singapore national football team has sunk to an all-time low of 173rd spot, two places below their previous low of No 171 set last October, and again in August this year.

The Lions are now the second-lowest ranked side in South-east Asia, just above Timor Leste who are in 192nd spot.

Traditional football minnows Cambodia, and neighbours Malaysia are ranked three places above Singapore at No 170, while the Philippines are the highest-ranked team in the region at No 116. Vietnam and Thailand are placed at No 121 and No 138 respectively, with Myanmar, Laos and Indonesia ranked No 155, 162, and 165.

The current ranking is the lowest-ever for the Republic, which was placed 162nd last month, four places above Causeway rivals Malaysia.

The Fifa rankings for October, which was released on Monday (Oct 16), caps a miserable month for Singapore football after the Lions’ two consecutive losses: a 1-3 friendly defeat by Qatar, followed by a 1-2 loss to Turkmenistan in their 2019 Asian Cup Group E qualifier last week.

The loss to then-world No 136 Turkmenistan put a huge dent in Singapore’s hopes of qualifying for the Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates, with V Sundramoorthy’s men currently bottom of Group E with two games to go.

The defeat also extended the Lions’ winless run to 11 games since their last victory in November last year, when they beat Cambodia 1-0 in a friendly match.

While the latest Fifa rankings is set to deliver yet another blow to local football, former national goalkeeper Lionel Lewis is confident that the Lions will be able to pick themselves up again after a string of poor results.

“I wouldn’t harp too much on the Fifa rankings,” said Lewis.

“What’s more important is the performance of the team, and in time to come they can rise up again. I believe Singapore football will come up again in the long run.”

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