Singapore 'highly motivated' ahead of World Cup qualifier away clash with China, says goalscorer Jacob Mahler

SINGAPORE: After Singapore's 2-2 draw with China in the first leg of their World Cup qualifier, the Lions are "highly motivated" to take the game to their opponents, said midfielder Jacob Mahler.

The crunch clash with China will take place on Tuesday and Mahler knows that the job is not done.

"We are all focussed and in the right mindset," the 23-year-old told CNA on Sunday (Mar 24), a day after arriving in Tianjin.

"It's back to work and back to what the game plan will be."

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The Lions came back from two goals down last Thursday to score a remarkable draw against China at the National Stadium, in what was Singapore head coach Tsutomu Ogura's opening game.

A first-half double by China's Wu Lei seemed to have dashed hopes of Singapore picking up any points in the third match of their World Cup qualifying campaign.

But substitute Faris Ramli gave the Lions a route back into the game before Mahler came off the bench to smash home a late equaliser.

China fans criticised their team's performance, while captain Zhang Linpeng suggested he would quit international football over the "humiliating" result, before making a retirement U-turn. 

Nevertheless, Mahler is aware of the threat Branko Ivankovic's men pose.

"As a team, they are very strong, a very physical side," he said.

"We know what their strengths are, we have our coaches who are working tirelessly to analyse them and what they are good at."

The Lions will have to face China without three members of Thursday's starting 11, with Safuwan Baharudin and Lionel Tan missing out through suspension. Midfielder Anumanthan Kumar also did not make the trip due to injury.

However, Mahler is confident in the team's ability to cope.

"It's a shame ... but that's football," he said.

"They are key players but I think we still have good enough replacements to take the positions that they (played in during the) last game."

Despite their result struggles, China are close to 70 places ahead of Singapore in the FIFA world rankings. With the Chinese home crowd in Tianjin and temperatures hovering at around 10 degrees Celsius, the Lions will have it all to do.

"Of course, they (China) will have their advantages. But I think we as a team after the draw are highly motivated and we want to go into this game with confidence and to play our football and bring the game to them," Mahler explained.

"I think the most important thing is maybe not to worry so much about them, but to worry more about ourselves. Make sure we have the right preparation, the right frame of mind to perform to our maximum ability."

A BREATH OF FRESH AIR

Speaking to reporters after the 2-2 draw, coach Ogura said he was not satisfied with the result and that Singapore could have won. “Please don’t say congratulations,” he added.

Mahler echoed similar thoughts. "We can only be satisfied when the job is fully done. We only got a point, three points is when the job is done," he added.

And the coach's comments have helped to ground the team, said Mahler.

"It was a breath of fresh air," he explained. "It put us in the right mindset. It brought us back down to earth immediately and that's something I felt was really important."

Appointed last month, Ogura’s last role was at Japanese club Tokyo Verdy as assistant coach. The team finished third in the J2 League last season, and won promotion through the play-offs to the top tier of Japanese football.

Ogura was also a former assistant coach of the Japanese national team (2006-2010) as well as the Olympic team (2010-2012).

"He has come in, he has been firm with what he wants," said Mahler. "He has installed belief in the team."

Ultimately, the Lions will need to be consistent and show that the draw was not a one-off result, added Mahler.

"We're very very happy that the ... first game (under Ogura) we've got a positive result, but it's still a long journey," said Mahler.

"We want more and we are determined to work harder for more."

Singapore had lost their first two matches in their qualifying group last November, with a 3-1 loss to Thailand and a 5-0 drubbing by South Korea. The Lions are rock bottom of the group, with three matches left to play.

At the same time, Mahler, who plays his club football for Indonesia top-tier side Madura United, is under no illusions about the journey ahead.

"We're nowhere (near) the team we can be and want to be," he said.

"We still need to improve a lot and this is going to take time. This was just one game. So we just need to be ready to learn, and ready to adapt and slowly become the team we want to be."