Aaravin (#5, right) led the Singapore U15s defense in their 4-3 win over Newcastle during the 2011 Lion City Cup. He and his teammates embarked on two tournaments after that competition — the AFF U-16 Championship and the AFC U-16 Championship qualifiers. (Photo © Adrian Tan/Red Sports archive)
North Korea, September 8-18, 2011 — The Singapore National Football Academy (NFA) Under-15 squad finished third in Group E at the qualifiers for the 2012 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-16 Football Championship earlier this month.
The team lost to eventual group winners North Korea (0-1), China (1-3), drew 1-1 with Malaysia and thrashed Timor Leste 8-1.
This is the same squad that took part in the 2011 Lion City Cup earlier in the year.
Thailand and Laos were the only two countries from ASEAN to qualify for the 2012 AFC U-16 Championship.
Thailand won all their group games which included a 3-2 win over Australia. Laos, on the other hand, finished as the best third-place team in the qualifiers to book their place.
Earlier in July 2011, the Singapore U-15s had finished fourth in the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) U-16 Championship. The Cubs qualified for the semi-finals after thrashing Vietnam (5-0), Philippines (5-0) and Cambodia (4-0). A 1-2 loss to Myanmar meant they finished second in their group.
In the semi-finals, they lost 0-2 to Thailand. In the playoff for third, they again lost to Myanmar 1-2.
Thailand won the U-16 championship when they beat host nation Laos 1-0 in the final.
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