Singapore U16 0-0 Porto U16: Stalemate seals progress to semi-finals for hosts

Porto started the game the brighter of the two but the crossbar and Singapore custodian, Heirul Suhanes' reflexes, prevented the Portuguese team from taking the lead in the 6th minute.

Luis Mata went on a solo run down the right before sending the ball into the penalty box, but Leandro Ribeiro’s effort could only hit the crossbar. Tiago Couto was on hand to follow up with the loose ball but wonderful reflexes and quick reaction from Heirul saved the home side from going down early on in the game.

There was also added responsibility for Singapore central defender Amirul Adil as he was handed the captain's armband by coach Dejan Gluscevic.

Amirul did well with R. Aaravin, in the centre of defence, who continued his fine performance from the first game against Ajax.

Heirul, meanwhile, had a busy night as he faced wave after wave of attacks from Porto. In the 20th minute, Heirul did well to fingertip Couto’s shot from 30 yards.

Six minutes later, even with three Singaporeans on his back, Ribeiro managed to wriggle away from his markers and play a low ball across the six-yard box, but thankfully for the home side, there was not a single Porto player to pounce on the ball.

Singapore's attack came from the occasional counter and the best chance came in the 36th minute as Mahathir Azeman played a through ball to Adam Swandi slicing the Porto defence.

Adam did well to beat his marker and with only the goalkeeper to beat, his shot glanced across the goal.

The second-half saw a much more spirited Singapore side with idea and creativity on the attack after the introduction of Rashe Rahman.

But with both teams failing to convert their chances in the second-half, coach Dejan Glucsecvic brought on a defender, Ehvin Sasidharan, four minutes from the end of regulation time, signaling his intention to defend a point.

The closing stages saw Singapore defending in numbers and in the process, earning a valuable point to secure a spot in the semi-finals of the tournament.