Singapore will play six friendly matches before November's AFF Suzuki Cup, with national coach V. Sundramoorthy describing Tuesday night's draw as "interesting".
The four time ASEAN champions face a tough task to advance to the knockout stages after being pitted against defending champions Thailand, co-hosts Philippines and four time finalists, Indonesia in Group A.
The 11th edition of the biennial tournament will be held between Nov. 19 and Dec. 17 in Philippines and Myanmar.
"It is an interesting draw for us," Sundramoorthy said in an FAS statement. "Singapore and Thailand are the most successful teams in the history of the AFF Championship.
"But this group isn't just about Singapore and Thailand. Co-hosts Philippines are equally strong and will enjoy home ground support, and Indonesia is also a good team."
National captain Shahril Ishak and veteran striker Khairul Amri agreed that every team in the group were capable of advancing beyond the group stages.
Here it is! The complete draw for the #AFFSuzukiCup2016! pic.twitter.com/EKsebZv7Ue
- AFF Suzuki Cup (@affsuzukicup) August 2, 2016
"This is a tough group with strong teams, any of which can progress to the semifinals," Shahril said. "The first match is always key, and we want to kick off the competition with a good result in the first game."
Khairul added: "There is little difference in standards among the teams in Southeast Asia today. In fact, I believe any of these teams which were drawn into either group earlier today has the ability to win the championship."
Coach Sundram said that the recent tour of Japan and Cambodia had helped him develop combinations for the Suzuki Cup.
"Over the next three months, we will continue to strengthen the team as well as individual players through the national team training days," he said.
"In addition, we will play another six international matches against opponents of varying strengths during the upcoming FIFA international weeks with one of the aims being to build depth by giving opportunities to young players."
Singapore last won the Suzuki Cup in 2012 when they defeated Thailand in the final, winning 3-2 on aggregate.