HANOI, Vietnam -- With earlier victories against two teams they were expected to beat -- in Cambodia and Timor-Leste -- followed by a 0-0 draw against defending champions Vietnam combining for a haul of seven points, it is safe to say that Singapore have made a creditable start to the 2026 ASEAN Championship.
Of course, the sentiment coming out from the Lions camp is one of slight disappointment given their declaration that they were actually hoping to claim all three points at Mỹ Đình National Stadium on Friday evening.
Yet, considering they have not beaten the Vietnamese since as far back as 1998, heading home from Hanoi with a point in the bag will probably still be satisfactory enough.
The Lions now head into their bye top of Group A. They will eagerly watch the clash between second-placed Indonesia and Vietnam on Monday knowing that -- as long that tie does not end in a draw -- they only need to avoid defeat against the former on Aug. 7 to book a second consecutive semifinal berth at the tournament.
Their destiny remains in their own hands. But, while the current situation looks promising, Singapore captain Hariss Harun has quickly moved to ensure his team does not get carried away just yet.
"Nothing's done yet," Hariss told ESPN after the draw with Vietnam. "We've still got to play the next game and get the points.
"We can take a lot of confidence away from this game but there's a lot of things to improve as well.
"I think both teams had their chances. Luck had a part to play as well for both sides. Towards the end, we had a couple of chances to bury and get the win.
"We came with a game plan. We did make it difficult for them in some parts of the game but, at the same, we made it difficult for ourselves.
"But, generally, it was a good performance -- especially defensively -- from us. We wanted the three points going into this game so that it would make things easier for us, but we'll take the one point away [from home] and now we'll look towards the next game at home to get the points we need to qualify."
In an enthralling contest, Singapore largely found themselves on the back foot throughout the 90 minutes. Vietnam let themselves down with some misses, Lions goalkeeper Izwan Mahbud produced a couple of crucial saves, while his woodwork also came to the rescue twice to deny Nguyễn Đình Bắc and Hêndrio.
Nonetheless, the visitors could easily have snatched maximum points late on. Jacob Mahler was only prevented from scoring by an outstanding save from Vietnam custodian Lê Giang Patrik before Shawal Anuar just could not keep a follow-up header from close range on target. Minutes later, Shawal then had another effort smartly thwarted by Patrik after taking a wicked deflection.
In years gone by, Singapore might have been content with the draw and just set up their stall to defend the closing stages of the contest. The fact that they were hunting a winner was testament to the mindset they now have since coach Gavin Lee permanently took over at the helm last November.
"Within the team, we demand a lot from ourselves," explained Hariss, who has represented Singapore for two decades now after winning his first cap as a 16-year-old back in 2007.
"Going into a competition when we're at preseason [on the club front] is never easy. Credit to the team -- we stuck to the task. There were difficult moments. We suffered quite a lot.
"I think there's a little bit of frustration within the camp that, if we had been sharper towards the end, perhaps we could have nicked a goal or two that could have got us the three points. But that's football.
"We did well to fight, to stay in the game. We got the one point and now we've just got to look ahead."
The strides Singapore have made in recent times have been reflected by last year's qualification for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup -- the first time they will be appearing at the continental tournament on merit after hosting it back in 1984.
With success also comes increased expectations, and that is why Hariss believes Friday's meeting with Vietnam was the perfect opportunity for them to show they are not standing still.
"Look at the world rankings [where 148th-placed Singapore rank sixth out of the ten teams at the ASEAN Championship]," Hariss added.
"We give a lot of respect to them [99th-ranked Vietnam] and obviously the other teams in the competition. But I think, in qualifying for the Asian Cup, we have displayed -- as a team -- a lot of belief. Where we're at. Who we are.
"Having said that, that's in the past now. We look forward. We have a lot of focus and eyes on the Asian Cup, and all these games towards the Asian Cup are there to prepare us.
"Vietnam themselves are in the Asian Cup as well, so it was a good gauge for us to play them. And we have a lot of belief within ourselves.
"We've just got to keep going. This team has been around for a bit. We're missing some key players [at the ASEAN Championship] but others have stepped up.
"Having said all this, we're still in progress, in the process, to getting better."
