HONG KONG -- Singapore and Norway are approximately 10,000 kilometres apart.
There are no direct flights between the two countries.
Yet, as he gears up for what he admits is the "biggest game of his career", Singapore defender Safuwan Baharudin is finding inspiration in the Scandinavian nation -- that recently ended a 27-year wait to return to the FIFA World Cup.
Despite boasting a population of just 5.6 million -- less than Singapore's 6.1 million -- even though their landmass of 385,199 square kilometres absolutely dwarves the Southeast Asian island nation's 728.6 square kilometres, Norway have reached the World Cup on three previous occasions. Twice reaching the round of 16.
Meanwhile, Singapore are looking to qualify for the AFC Asian Cup -- the continent's premier international tournament -- on merit for the first time ever. Their only previous appearance in 1984 came automatically as the host nation.
The Lions are tantalisingly close to making history. On Tuesday, they meet Hong Kong in a winner-takes-all clash at Kai Tak Stadium -- with the duo being the two teams in Group C of the Asian Cup qualifiers still in the running to seal an Asian Cup berth, after India and Bangladesh had already been eliminated previously.
Singapore may still have some way to go to emulating Norway's feats, but reaching the Asian Cup could very much be their version of World Cup qualification for now.
"Last night, I saw an interview coming from the Norway manager," Safuwan told ESPN on Sunday, speaking even before the Norwegians had got the job done later that evening.
"He said it would be a shame [if they didn't qualify] because they did so well.
"I think it'll be a shame if we don't go through [to the Asian Cup].
"If you look at the current qualification for the World Cup, there are so many first-timers [qualifying]. Personally, I take this as motivation because they narrowed it to a point where the population [of some of these countries] is so little compared to other countries that consistently make it to the World Cup.
"We're not far off our goal.
"We have to be realistic [that] this is probably our 'World Cup'. For now, where our standard of football is, we know we're far from being able to achieve at the highest platform, which is the World Cup.
"This is probably the next step for Singapore football."
Now 34 and with 129 caps to his name, Safuwan is no stranger to big moments -- even from a young age.
He won the ASEAN Championship as a 21-year-old in 2012 - the last time Singapore were crowned champions of Southeast Asia.
He was part of the Singaporean representative side that crossed the Causeway and reigned supreme on the soil of their fiercest rivals, with the now-defunct LionsXII winning the Malaysia Super League in 2013 and claiming an FA Cup for good measure two years later.
He was the first Singaporean to feature in Australia's A-League, where he remarkably scored twice in six outings for Melbourne City despite playing in defence. Since then, he spent his entire career as an import in the MSL until recently returning home to join Lion City Sailors on loan from Selangor.
Amid all his past achievements, Safuwan did not have to think twice when asked if this was the most significant game of his career.
"Absolutely," he replied without hesitation, even claiming to have goosebumps after hearing the magnitude of what was at stake being described.
"We all know the importance of this game. I just had a few words with [captain] Hariss [Harun] -- this is probably the biggest game both of us have encountered, or are going to be playing for.
"I can't recall when was the last time [encountering such a game]. I think it's the [World Cup qualifying] playoff that we played against Malaysia to secure the next stage of qualifying. We played them in Bukit Jalil and then in Jalan Besar.
"That was probably one of the biggest because eventually we did put ourselves in the group stage.
"We're at the age where, if we make it to the Asian Cup, that will probably be our last few games for Singapore.
"Moving forward, this is probably one of the biggest games, not only for me, but for Singapore football."
As has always been the case, Singapore will have a band of travelling fans in their corner on Tuesday -- providing extra motivation for the Lions given the effort they take to get to such away games is not lost on Safuwan, although he might be pleasantly surprised at the approximately 2,000 that will be in their corner having perhaps been misinformed about the number.
"I looked at the air tickets [to Hong Kong] -- they're not cheap," Safuwan stressed. "I think it's close to Christmas and [it's also] the school holidays.
"But when we had that positive results against India [in the last round of qualifiers], people were already talking about the Hong Kong game. And, if you look on social media, Hong Kong are selling the tickets at seven or eight times the [usual] prices.
"They [the fans] are also raring to go. I'm sure there will easily be at least be 50, 60 Singaporeans there to support us.
"Along with the fans back home with their support, it shows how important everything is."