HANOI, Vietnam — Song Ui-Young returned to the ASEAN Championship after missing the previous tournament to attend to family matters in South Korea, according to ESPN. The forward moved to Singapore at 17, later became a citizen and now represents the Lions 15 years on.
On the eve of the current tournament, immediately after scoring a hat-trick for Lion City Sailors in the AFC Champions League Two, Song announced he would skip international duty to deal with “personal family issues,” ESPN reported. He said at the time, “I’ve been here for many years and I didn’t look after my family.”
ESPN reported Song’s mother had suffered a stroke the previous year, underwent brain surgery and that the family concealed the condition from him to avoid distracting his career. Song returned to South Korea at the end of 2024; his mother remains on medication and her condition is under control, according to ESPN.
On the field, Singapore has opened this campaign with victories over Cambodia and Timor-Leste, collecting six points. The Lions travel to Hanoi to face defending champions Vietnam at the Mỹ Đình National Stadium, a side that eliminated Singapore with a 5-1 aggregate semifinal win in 2024, ESPN noted. Singapore have not beaten Vietnam since 1998.
Song acknowledged the missed semifinal lingered as motivation. “When I think back how I couldn’t play then, because of the family issue that I had to go back to Korea, I felt at the moment like … [it’s a] bummer, you know? Finally I’m here to play against Vietnam in an away game. I have extra motivation and am ready to try and represent Singapore to the best [of my ability],” he told ESPN.
He described the remaining group matches against Vietnam and Indonesia as “finals” for qualification and said Singapore has already met the target of six points from the first two games. “Now we [likely] only need three points from one game to qualify,” Song said, adding that while Vietnam and Indonesia are stronger on paper, “in football, nobody knows what’s going to happen. We believe we can take the three points again,” ESPN reported. The group concludes with a home meeting against Indonesia on Aug. 7.
