“Our players were scared.”
Korean players are taking commemorative photos during the 2026 North and Central America World Cup Asia 2nd qualifying group match between Korea and Singapore held at The National Stadium in Singapore on the afternoon of the 6th (local time). On this day, South Korea won 7-0 against Singapore.
After Singapore's Japan-born coach Tsutomu Ogura was completely defeated by Korea, he praised Korea, saying, "They were a team of a completely different class."
Singapore lost 0-7 in the 5th match of Group C of the 2026 FIFA North and Central America World Cup Asia Region 2nd qualifying round against Korea held at Anbang National Stadium on the 6th (Korean time).
Singapore used a tactic of actively pressing rather than defending against the powerful Korea, but as a result, it gave up space behind them and ended up collapsing early on. Singapore failed to mount a counterattack and lost helplessly in front of a crowd of 48,183 people.
After the game, Coach Ogura said through the Singaporean media ‘The Straits Times’, “I apologize to the Singapore fans. “A lot of people came to watch us play, but we couldn’t do what we wanted to do,” he apologized.
He continued, “Korea was a team that played soccer of a completely different class. It wasn't easy. “But I promise not to give up and make even more progress next time,” he added.
Coach Ogura placed significance on the attempt to be aggressive rather than defensive. “The approach was good,” he said. “There is more to Singapore soccer about taking on challenges and meeting them rather than simply setting up blocks and holding on,” he argued.
He said, “But as we continued to concede goals in the second half, the players became nervous and were completely intimidated by Korea. “From then on, everything was over,” he said, expressing regret that the players suffered a mental breakdown. 고스톱