Singapore 3 Uzbekistan 7: Ten-goal slugfest a result of tired legs?

The ten-goal match was not much of a thriller. During those minutes when no goals were being scored, the build-up to each goal was totally lacking, unlike English Premier League matches where there are many minutes of fairly intense passing, shuffling and tackling before a goal is scored.

I got a theory for that: It has to be the humidity in Singapore. Temperatures in the evening might be about 26 to 28 degrees Celsius, but under the stadium floodlights it could be at least a degree warmer.

And the players were all perspiring profusely the minute the match got underway. For those familiar with running in warm environments, the high temperature saps away energy and makes activities such as short sprints feel like running with a load. Not to mention, cooler and less humid air might make the lungs burn less.

Two goals that did hit the Singapore net were chaotic and conceded because of a lack of defensive discipline. The laxed marking resulting in one of the Uzbek header goals and the swinging corner kick that found the net were almost comical. We could have gone down by five goals instead of seven.

Maybe the secret to greater footballing success is better fitness among players. It is probably genetic predisposition as well, but Asian players lack a certain dominating build that other bigger players use as an advantage to shoulder and lean their weight on opponents.

But being smaller means being more agile. Nifty footwork and more tactical playing might allow the Lions to win more games, albeit with narrow margins, in the future.

Improve the work rate and make the players outlast their opponents because of improved stamina. If we can't win by natural talent, we can always train it the hard way.