Veteran midfielder Jiwa Mohan (pic) yesterday called on the Malaysian players to buck up and work as a team to put their bid for a place in the Beijing Olympics back on track.Malaysia are currently playing in the Olympic hockey qualifiers at Kakamigahara, Japan.
They beat Poland 2-1 and drew 4-4 with minnows Italy.
The draw with Italy dented Malaysia's hope of reaching the final of the qualifier. But they are still in the hunt if they can win their remaining three matches against Germany, Switzerland and Japan.
But first the players must raise their game for the cruncher against Germany today and Jiwa believes a win is not impossible.
“We have not been playing to the ability we showed in training. We had full control of a match and yet could not find a winner. There is a lot of room for improvement and we just have to find our touch quickly,” said Jiwa yesterday.
“The Germans are the hot favourites. It will take a major effort to upstage them and I believe we can do it if everyone play to form,” said Jiwa.
Jiwa scored one of the four goals in the match against Italy. Malaysia have only managed to score six goals in the two matches. Germany have scored 18 while the Japanese have scored eight.
“Goals will be important in the final run up especially if we are tied on points. The other two front-runners have a lead on us and we need to catch up.
“But first we need to ensure getting three points from each match. We do not have the luxury of relaxing against Germany,” he added.
Jiwa said Germany's biggest asset is their consistency.
“No matter who they play or where they play the Germans are the most consistent team in terms of performance. That is why they are ranked No.1 in the world.
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