From heartbreak to heroics: Five times the Lions played with everything on the line

HONG KONG: Singapore face Hong Kong in a winner-takes-all Asian Cup qualifier at Kai Tak Stadium on Tuesday (Nov 18).

If the Lions win, they will qualify for the tournament on merit for the first time. Lose, and they're out.

Should the match end in a draw, qualification will come down to the final matchday in March next year, when Singapore host Bangladesh and Hong Kong travel for an away tie against India.

Singapore’s only appearance at the Asian Cup was in 1984, when it qualified automatically as the host nation.

But this is not the first time the Lions are playing in a high-stakes match at the Asian level.

Apart from at the SEA Games and AFF football championship, there have been a few other occasions where the Lions have taken to the field with much on the line.

CNA looks back at five matches when the national football team's fate hung in the balance.

The year was 2010 and the Lions travelled to Amman to face Jordan.

At King Abdullah Stadium, a draw would have been enough to send Singapore through to the following year's Asian Cup after Thailand lost 1-0 to Iran.

But Singapore, missing key players through injury and suspension, conceded an early Odai Al Saify goal. Up against the wind, the cold and the home support, the Lions could have gone further behind, if not for goalkeeper Lionel Lewis.

But in the second half, the Lions came roaring back courtesy of striker Noh Alam Shah, who prodded home after latching on to a pass from Aleksandar Duric.

But a 58th-minute Bani Yaseen free header off a corner saw Jordan take all three points, breaking Singapore hearts. Radojko "Raddy" Avramovic's men finished bottom of their group, while Iran and Jordan booked their spots in the regional showpiece.

Ten of the starting eleven from that