Malaysia must seize the day and beat Belgium today.
Waiting for a win against South Africa tomorrow for a quarter-finals place is too risky and could backfire in hockey's Junior World Cup in Bhubaneswar.
Granted that Belgium belted South Africa 5-1 and set the standard for Group A, but at junior level hockey, teams are normally not as consistent as their seniors.
"Our players missed too many goals in the match against Chile after taking a 2-0 lead. They can't afford to make the same mistakes against Group A favourites Belgium.
"All the groundwork for recovery started the moment the Chile match ended, and our team of coaches and physiotherapists are constantly making sure players are mentally and physically ready for the Belgium challenge," said Malaysian team manager I. Vikneswaran.
There were some players guilty of walking on the pitch, not running and looking for openings. This has not escaped Vikneswaran's eyes.
"Not wanting to name names, we know who were the players who had first match jitters and were not productive off the ball, as well as missing some balls which should have easily been trapped or tucked into the goalmouth.
"We are working on their confidence, and hopefully these players perform like they did against European teams during their eight-match tour of Britain," said Vikneswaran.
The plus point for these upstarts?
"They are not afraid of any team, be it European, South American or Asian. This has been drilled into all the players for the last two years, and when push comes to shove, they don't fear bigger and taller opponents," said Vikneswaran.
A team of coaches are in Bhubaneswar, and each has their designated duties.
Chief coach Wallace Tan is a man of few words, but never stops planning and he has Megat Azrafiq as his assistant. Both of them delivered the Youth Olympics gold medal in 2018 at Buenos Aires.
Baljit Singh Charun Singh was a former national player turned coach, while experienced goalkeeper Roslan Jamaluddin is in charge of the men between the posts.
So, carpe diem against Belgium, and don't wait for a South Africa do or die.