Singapore captain Hariss Harun says it is important to not be disappointed with the loss to Chinese Taipei on Saturday and to stay focussed and produce a 'respectable performance' against Argentina in the international friendly on Tuesday.
The 157th-ranked hosts take on the two-time World Cup winners at Singapore National Stadium, organised to mark the 125th anniversary of the Football Association of Singapore. A lot of hype was surrounding the Argentina fixture even before V Sundramoorthy's men had played Chinese Taipei, whom the Singapore were expected to beat, especially after their impressive show during the goalless draw against higher-ranked Bahrain in the Asian Cup qualifying campaign opener in April.
However, a 2-1 defeat to the lower-ranked side would have dented the Lions' confidence ahead of one of their biggest fixtures of the year. Despite letting Hariss score the opener as early as in the sixth minute of the match, Chinese Taipei made sure they converted their chances better and ended up with three crucial points.
"It was disappointing to lose on home soil, but now we cannot be putting our heads down after this result. There is still four more games to go in the group and we have got to pick up the points which are up for grabs," Hariss said, as quoted by the Football Association of Singapore official website.
Also read: Singapore vs Argentina - How to watch match live, team news
"And of course, there is this big game against Argentina coming up so we have to prepare ourselves and put up a respectable performance for our fans."
While there is excitement in the camp about playing the world's best, coach Sundramoorthy says his team needs to be cautious despite Argentina not having Lionel Messi in their camp. Notably, Jorge Sampaoli's side are heading into the match on the back of beating Brazil 1-0 in Melbourne on Friday.
La Albiceleste will also miss the likes of Gonzalo Higuain and Nicolas Otamendi, but have enough firepower in Juventus forward Pauolo Dybala, Inter Milan forward Mauro Icardi and Paris Saint-Germain star Angel di Maria among others.
"We are playing against a strong team (so) we will approach it tactically well. Obviously we want to go out there and entertain. But we must be cautious because they are a world-class team," Sundramoorthy said, as quoted by The New Paper.
