Singapore (3-1-1, 10 points) and Japan (3-0-1, 10 points) are tied on points in Group E competitions of the AFC 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, but the latter is ahead in the standings by virtue of a superior goal differential. The two teams will battle it out at the National Stadium in Kallang on Thursday, November 12th for the right to occupy the top spot of the bracket.
Singapore defeated lowly Cambodia, 2-1, also at their home field of Kallang National Stadium last October 13th as midfielder Faris Ramli and forward Fazrul Nawaz scored a goal each in the first half of their match at the 16th and 47th-minute marks respectively, as reported by ESPN.
The visitors managed to find the net in the second half with a goal from Cambodian midfielder Sos Suhana five minutes after the hour mark, but it was all they could do against Bernd Stange's men.
Meanwhile, powerhouse squad Japan routed current group leader Syria, 3-0, in their October 8 match at the Al-Seeb Stadium in Seeb, Oman, as per Soccerway.
AC Milan's Keisuke Honda, Leicester City's Shinji Okazaki, and Gamba Osaka's Takashi Osami score one goal apiece in the second half en route to the Samurai Blue's blowout victory.
Singapore and Japan's first meeting in the qualifiers ended in a goalless draw at the Saitama Stadium 2002 in Saitama last June 16 and both teams would like to play better in this second matchup.
Although playing in front of their opponent's fans, Vahid Halilhodžić's squad will prevail with their world-class roster of players to take overall leadership of Group E.
The predicted result is a close 2-1 win for Japan.
Singapore starting lineup (5-3-2 formation): Mahbud; Hamzah, Khaizan, Mohana, Shafiq, Baharudin; Ramli, Harun, Abu Sujad; Suhaimi, Amri
Japan starting lineup (4-3-3 formation): Nishikawa; Nagatomo, Makino, Sakai, Yoshida; Kagawa, Yamaguchi, Hasebe; Honda, Haraguchi, Okazaki