{"id":12999,"date":"2025-11-20T03:38:44","date_gmt":"2025-11-19T19:38:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=12999"},"modified":"2025-11-20T03:38:44","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T19:38:44","slug":"ilhan-fandi-downplays-history-making-cameo-but-was-always-ready-to-play-his-part-for-singapore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=12999","title":{"rendered":"Ilhan Fandi downplays history-making cameo but was always ready to play his part for Singapore"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>HONG KONG &#8212; At just the age of 23, <a href=\"https:\/\/global.espn.com\/football\/player\/_\/id\/332225\/ilhan-fandi\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ilhan Fandi&#8217;<\/a>s place in the history books of Singaporean football is already secured.<\/p>\n<p>As a member of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com.sg\/football\/team\/_\/id\/4384\/singapore\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Singapore<\/a> side that qualified for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com.sg\/football\/league\/_\/name\/afc.asian.cup\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">AFC Asian Cup<\/a> on merit for the first time ever, as well as for the match-winning contribution he produced in Tuesday&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com.sg\/football\/story\/_\/id\/47009896\/ilhan-fandi-28-minute-star-turn-inspires-singapore-historic-afc-asian-cup-qualification\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2-1 come-from-behind win<\/a> over <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com.sg\/football\/team\/_\/id\/1928\/hong-kong\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Hong Kong<\/a> that secured the achievement.<\/p>\n<p>With the Lions trailing 1-0, Ilhan was introduced as a substitute three minutes before the hour mark.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"inline editorial float-r\" data-behavior=\"article_related\">\n<h2 class=\"editorial-title\">Editor&#8217;s Picks<\/h2>\n<p>2 Related<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>By the 68th minute, with a visionary assist followed by a scorcher of a goal, he had helped Singapore to a winning position they would not relinquish.<\/p>\n<p>Ilhan did not even see out the full remainder of the contest. An ankle injury meant that he had to be stretchered off in the 85th minute.<\/p>\n<p>In just 28 minutes on the field &#8212; although he effectively had needed only 11 &#8212; Ilhan had weighed in with a pivotal star turn, not that he sees it that way.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t really think [about] it like that,&#8221; a bashful Ilhan &#8212; limping with the aid of a crutch &#8212; replied, when asked by ESPN about his history-making cameo.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve always said, whether I&#8217;m given 15 minutes, 20 minutes, or when I start the game, I just try to give it my all.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;[Singapore] coach Gavin [Lee] knows how to use me. I believe in my own abilities and the team believe in my abilities.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;So, for me, I think I just went out there [and] I always [try to] enjoy football.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;When we went 1-0 down, I knew the fighting spirit we had. We did [the same] in India. So I&#8217;m just so proud of the boys and very happy.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Truth be told, while Ilhan was the name that captured all the headlines, there were heroes all around on Tuesday evening.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/global.espn.com\/football\/player\/_\/id\/255158\/shawal-anuar\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Shawal Anuar<\/a> had been the main beneficiary of Ilhan&#8217;s ingenuity, racing onto a blind, over-the-shoulder hooked through-ball but still deserving plenty of credit for his deft lifted finish over the onrushing <a href=\"https:\/\/global.espn.com\/football\/player\/_\/id\/195144\/zhenpeng-wang\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Wang Zhenpeng<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Goalkeeper <a href=\"https:\/\/global.espn.com\/football\/player\/_\/id\/241164\/izwan-mahbud\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Izwan Mahbud<\/a> had made a stunning save in the 13th minute even before Hong Kong had taken the lead. Centre-back <a href=\"https:\/\/global.espn.com\/football\/player\/_\/id\/216075\/safuwan-baharudin\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Safuwan Baharudin<\/a> made two crucial goal-line clearances.<\/p>\n<p>And then there was captain <a href=\"https:\/\/global.espn.com\/football\/player\/_\/id\/115657\/hariss-harun\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Hariss Harun<\/a>, who &#8212; as always &#8212; offered a reassuring presence at the back and even made a crucial last-ditch tackle to deny Hong Kong a clear shooting opportunity in the final stages of the contest.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-captioned=\"\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DROvVo0k4mh\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\"\/>\n<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m just so happy that Singapore can qualify for the Asian Cup,&#8221; Ilhan continued. &#8220;I think everyone that was involved gave their all. I&#8217;m just a player that tried to do my job.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Before I came in, I knew that I could change the game. <em>Alhamdulillah<\/em> [praise be to God] I did it.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m just so proud of the boys. To everyone back home, this one&#8217;s for you.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s been a long journey. I think it&#8217;s something the whole country can be proud of, and I&#8217;m just very proud to be Singaporean.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The significance of the achievement was not lost on Ilhan, who is part of Singapore&#8217;s next generation that has emerged as the perfect complement to the older brigade.<\/p>\n<p>The likes of Hariss, Safuwan and Izwan were all part of Singapore&#8217;s last notable achievement &#8212; the 2012 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com.sg\/football\/league\/_\/name\/aff.championship\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ASEAN Championship<\/a> triumph &#8212; when Ilhan was just ten.<\/p>\n<p>With the trio, still meaningful contributors, approaching their mid-30s, the Asian Cup is now looming as the perfect swansong.<\/p>\n<p>Despite their age difference, Lions skipper Hariss &#8212; widely lauded for being a role model in the dressing room &#8212; is someone that Ilhan has gotten close to, and has a special appreciation for.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Not only is he my &#8216;brother&#8217;, my captain &#8212; he&#8217;s also my roommate,&#8221; added Ilhan. &#8220;I have so much respect for him.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;He always asks me to keep my head down and I just can&#8217;t thank him enough for being my mentor. We still need him.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m just very happy for the senior players. I know how much it means for them.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;For us to be guided by players like him and Safuwan, it means a lot. I&#8217;m just so happy.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com.sg\/soccer\/story\/_\/id\/47024898\/ilhan-fandi-downplays-history-making-cameo-always-ready-play-part-singapore\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article At Source <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>HONG KONG &#8212; At just the age of 23, Ilhan Fandi&#8217;s place in the history books of Singaporean football is already secured. As a member&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13000,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2611],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12999","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buzz-headlines","wpcat-2611-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12999","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12999"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12999\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13000"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12999"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12999"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12999"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}