‘We need to be exposed’: Gavin Lee's Lions welcome Brazil, Paraguay challenge

Brazil are sixth in FIFA's world rankings, while Paraguay sit 33rd, underlining the scale of the task facing the Lions, who are ranked 149th.

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12 Nov 2026 03:49PM (Updated: 12 Nov 2026 03:50PM)

SINGAPORE: Still reeling from a 6-0 rout by Causeway rivals Malaysia last month, Singapore's national football team have little time to dwell on the loss, with clashes against Paraguay and five-time World Cup winners Brazil looming.

For Lions head coach Gavin Lee, however, the opportunity to face elite opposition is exactly what Singapore needs.

While acknowledging the huge gulf in quality between his side and their upcoming opponents, Lee said on Thursday (Nov 11) that exposure to elite teams was essential if Singapore was to get better and become a more competitive outfit ahead of the 2027 Asian Cup.

Brazil are sixth in FIFA's world rankings, while Paraguay sit 33rd, underlining the scale of the task facing the Lions, who are ranked 149th.

“If we want to be a serious team, we need to be exposed,” said Lee. 

“We need to be overloaded because we need to know the areas that we need to improve in. We want to be able to show that there will be periods where we can compete, there will be periods where we are willing to suffer.”

Singapore will open their Mizuho Blue Challenge campaign against Paraguay on Friday before taking on Brazil next Tuesday in the four-team event, which also features Japan.

Ahead of the matches, captain Hariss Harun admitted the defeat by Malaysia remains fresh in the minds of the players, but the team has used the loss as a reference point.

“There's no hiding from that result. I think it's always in the back of our heads,” said the midfielder. 

“We were all shell-shocked. The performance was something that we are not proud of. But since we got back together in camp, we've been using it as a reference of where we went wrong, what we need to rectify.”

“BEST POSSIBLE VERSION” FOR ASIAN CUP

The upcoming friendlies against South American opposition also form part of Singapore's preparations for the 2027 Asian Cup, for which the Lions qualified on merit for the first time.

The tournament was due to be held in January, but has since been postponed to December next year because of security concerns in host nation Saudi Arabia, giving Singapore an additional 11 months to prepare.

But Lee said the extra time would count for little unless the team used it to become “the best possible version” of itself before the continental tournament.

“The main question is what we're going to do with that time. It is on us to respond well to really make sure we use the time wisely,” he added.

The Lions are in Group D of the Asian Cup, with Australia, Tajikistan and Iraq their opponents.