The Lions will go all out to hold Japan and come away with a point, said Singapore coach Bernd Stange at the pre-match media conference on Wednesday (Nov 11).
The Lions face the Asian giants in a 2018 World Cup Qualifier on Thursday. Lying third in Group E and level on 10 points with Asian giants Japan, Singapore will be looking for a similar performance that saw them hold the Blue Samurai to a goalless draw in Saitama in June.
“We are curious to see if we can repeat the result in Saitama, whether it was a fluke or whether we are that good. The game will start at 0-0, so that means we start with one point, and we must defend that point,” Stange said.
Despite having the home ground advantage this time around, anything other than a Japanese victory will still be a surprise result.
“It’s a long way to making qualification. World Cup qualification – it’s more a matter for Japan, not Singapore,” Stange admitted.
“We are very proud of what we have achieved till now. 10 points is a very good result for us, definitely. And now we want to go all the way to the United Arab Emirates. That’s our goal and the players are very, very convinced that we are able to do that.”
The Lions’ 2018 football World Cup Qualification fate will be decided over the next five days. A win for Singapore on Thursday will see them leapfrog to the top of the group, at least until next Tuesday, when they face current group leaders Syria in their penultimate group game, also at the National Stadium.(Ewan Mah)
Link: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/world-cup-qualifiers/2252174.html
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