Keeping the faith

Custodian Kumar sees more than a flicker of hope against Germany

THE Malaysian hockey team must be hoping that Germany are in a magnanimous mood as it’s the Christmas season.

And that’s a comforting scenario ahead of the daunting do-or-die Group D match with the Germans at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubasneswar today.

Malaysia, with only a point after two matches, face a herculean task of upsetting world No. 6 Germany to finish in the top three and qualify for the second round.

Malaysia are bottom of the group and if they draw with or lose to Germany, their World Cup dream will be over as they can only play for the 13th-16th positions.

Malaysia played below par in their first two matches. They were given a lesson by the Dutch masters in a 7-0 drubbing and settled for a scrappy 1-1 draw with Pakistan.

Germany have been in superb form, edging Pakistan 1-0 but outplaying Holland 4-1.

World No. 12 Malaysia have played Germany 44 times but have only won four times, drawn seven and lost 33.

Goalkeeper S. Kumar, the oldest player in the World Cup, has urged his teammates to give it their all and make one final push against Germany.

“We’ve never beaten Germany for a long time, but that doesn’t mean we can’t do it this time.

“We know it’s do-or-die for us. The match will decide whether we continue to play in the World Cup or pack our bags and go home,” said the 39-year-old Kumar, who was praised for his heroics against Holland.

Kumar also views the match against Germany as a chance for them to salvage their battered pride.

“We were dismal in our first two matches. Against Holland, we only had one attempt at goal. Against Pakistan, we had seven penalty corners and were lucky to score one,” admitted Kumar.

“Our penalty corner set-pieces were a flop. We need to be more focused when executing our set-pieces.

“We also need to execute coach Roelant Oltmans’ game plan if we want to beat the mighty Germans,” said Kumar.

Kumar had a bitter experience in Malaysia’s last match against Germany in the World League SemiFinals in Johor Baru in 2013 where Malaysia lost 6-0.

But trust the ever-optimistic Kumar to never give up.

“I have faith in my teammates and I believe we can do it,” said Kumar, who is playing in his last World Cup.

The omens, however, do not look good for Malaysia. In the last World Cup in The Hague, Holland, four years ago, Malaysia finished last among 12 nations.