Singapore drawn in Group B with Malaysia, Vietnam for AFF C'ships in Dec
A tantalising Causeway Derby awaits Singapore and Malaysia as both teams were placed in Group B of the Asean Football Federation (AFF) Championships in the draw held in Bangkok on Tuesday (Aug 30).
In all likelihood, the match could also decide who progresses to the semi-finals with clear favourites Vietnam. The other two sides in the group are Myanmar and Laos.
The Lions won their last encounter against their neighbours 2-1 in a friendly at the National Stadium in March thanks to an Ikhsan Fandi double.
Defending champions Thailand, runners-up Indonesia, the Philippines, Cambodia and either Brunei or Timor-Leste, who face each other in a playoff, were drawn in Group A.
Besides the change in title sponsor from Suzuki to Mitsubishi Electric, the tournament will revert to the home and away format for the group stage, which was introduced in 2018. This means every team will play two group games at home.
Fixtures for the competition, scheduled to kick off in December, will be announced on a later date.
With four titles won in 1998, 2004, 2007 and 2012, Singapore are the second-most successful side in AFF Championship history, two behind Thailand.
However, after their last triumph, the Lions were knocked out in the group stage in 2014, 2016 and 2018.
They reached the semi-finals of last year's edition - held in a centralised location, Singapore, due to the pandemic - where they lost to Indonesia in extra time after the scores were tied at 3-3 after two legs of regulation time.
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