Veteran Singapore stopper the toast of China after World Cup heroics

Source: CNA

BEIJING: Singapore's 40-year-old goalkeeper Hassan Sunny was hailed as China's unlikely saviour on Wednesday (Jun 12) after playing a starring role in keeping their World Cup dreams alive.

China's hopes of reaching the third stage of Asian qualifying for 2026 were hanging by a thread after a 1-0 defeat to South Korea in Seoul on Tuesday.

Thailand then needed to beat Singapore by three goals in Bangkok to leapfrog China and snatch second place in Group C, which would have ended China's World Cup hopes.

Thailand did beat basement side Singapore, but only 3-1, with stopper Hassan making 11 saves in a man-of-the-match display.

Thanks to a better head-to-head record against Thailand, China squeezed into the next round, along with runaway group leaders South Korea.