Singapore national team goalkeeper Izwan Mahbud is on a week-long training stint with second-tier J.League club Matsumoto Yamaga.

And immediately, he has been embraced by Japanese fans who queued up to get his autograph on the first day of training on Dec. 2.

The 25-year-old goalkeeper made headlines in June when he managed a spectacular 18 saves to help Singapore hold Japan to a 0-0 draw in their 2018 World Cup qualifying clash in Saitama.

Last month, despite a 3-0 defeat by Japan in the reverse tie at the National Stadium, Izwan put on another solid performance with 19 saves.

Japan coach Vahid Halilhodzic congratulated him personally after the match.

He was approached by the Japanese media on his arrival at Narita Airport on Tuesday and will take part in two more training sessions before featuring in friendly against the Matsumoto University team on Saturday.

If all goes well, Izwan might just become the first Singapore footballer to sign for a J-League team.

In an interview after the training, Izwan said: "Hopefully I'll gain something from this experience."

Previously, Spanish club Real Sociedad was interested in signing Izwan, but manager David Moyes got sacked before anything happened.

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