Jordan 2 Singapore 1

A windy and cold Amman was the setting for the Asian Cup qualifier between the Middle East nation Jordan and one of the better Southeast Asian football countries Singapore. Jordan, backed by an amazing home crowd drew first blood by their most lethal forward in the match who resembles French attacking midfielder Karim Benzema.

Jordan executed multiple split- second moves. They used whatever spaces they could find. Their moves were fast, instantaneous, effective, accurate and stylish. On top of it all, they were more composed than Singapore. They attacked from all angles. The Jordanian midfield team kept the balls sent in from now and then. They were consistently on the prowl.

Singapore needs to improve. We played slow. We moved slow. We lacked rythm. If we were to analyse what needs to be done, there are a few aspects to look into. We have a fitness gap we need to bridge. We need to play with a lion's heart. We need to be more confident. We still lack the technical skills. We need to, as a team, be stronger.

Some of the notable performances by Singapore were of custodian Lionel Lewis, forward Noh Alam Shah, Jia Yi and the promising youngster, Harris.

We are out of the Asian Cup.