24 July 2011

Azkals need miracle to overcome Kuwaitis

THE road to the World Cup is getting narrower and bumpier for the Philippine Azkals and they now need a miracle to reach the planet's biggest soccer stage.


After going down 0-3 in the second round's first leg of their Asian World Cup qualifier against Kuwait Sunday, the Azkals will have to come up with something special in the second leg of their qualifying match at the Rizal Football Stadium in Manila on July 28.


A team that waltzed past Sri Lanka in the first round is now facing elimination against a far more superior team in Kuwait, which hammered in three goals in the opening match to underscore its dominance on the turf.


By yielding three goals, the Azkals must at least score four goals and prevent the Kuwaitis from scoring in their home stand on July 28 if they hope to advance into the third round of the Asian qualifier.


This is easier said than done as the Kuwaitis clearly are the more skillfull booters. And what compounded the Azkals' woes was their failure to give Filipino-British strike Phil Younghusband support during counter-attacks.


Because they switched to defensive mode against the Kuwaitis, the Azkals often find Younghusband alone on top that minimized their scoring chances.


Though the Philippine side has some several good shots at the goal in the first half -- two right-footed blasts from Younghusband and Angel Guirado's header that hit the crossbar off a Chiffey Caligdong corner kick -- the Kuwaitis were in total control of the match. (CRAM)


Published in the Sun.Star Davao newspaper on July 25, 2011.
Lagt inn av kl.
Etiketter: ,

13 comments:

  1. Sammy24 July 2011 at 23:49

    Go for just the game. Not for the Round 3.
    Scoring 3 or 4 goals against obviously better side is already a hard mission, but what's even harder is not to concede a goal while playing offensively. Due to the away goal rule, if Kuwait gets a goal we must score 5 goals to win it. Then we should go even more offensively, which would only make our defense more fragile and might lead us to a disastrous defeat.

    So, again, just go for the game. I mean, don't give a F the scoreline and just go for a win. 1-0 or 3-2 or whatever's fine. That would absolutely be the most phenomenal achievement. Defense is the first. No i'm not saying we should go with 9-0-1 tactic again like how we did in Kuwait. Basically let the players play around their position, press them hard from the frontline and battle for the possession at mf, help defense, do passing games, and let front guys do their job. Yes, just some modernly normal football. Don't play too offensively, don't play too defensively either, just keep the balance as if all we need is a 1-0 win. Of course a win is the best, but a draw is still a great achievement.

    I hope all the players and fans just enjoy the game since this is the biggest football match on RP home soil in decades.

    ReplyDelete
  2. ben25 July 2011 at 00:46

    I agree with you Sammy, they should go for this game and dont think of advancing. Dont think of the aggregate anymore. Winning against Kuwait without advancing to the 3rd round will be massive. From what theve shown in the 1st half, Kuwait is beatable.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous25 July 2011 at 03:55

    yeah.. kuwait is beatable. SOme azkals defender nagkumupulan sila sa loob ng box masyado. Kaya natatakpan ung tingin ng goal keeper kung may padating na bola. Tpos ung 2nd goal pa ata ng Kuwait e own goal. Malabong kuwaiti ung nakascore dun kasi ung 2 nyang paa andun sa likod nun. Kita sa rear angle shot

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous25 July 2011 at 09:49

    If you are chasing for a win,, you might as well go for the World Cup. It is the show.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous25 July 2011 at 13:21

    Aim high!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous25 July 2011 at 13:30

    Miracles can happen but the impossible takes a little longer.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous25 July 2011 at 13:34

    "Go for just the game. Not for the Round 3."

    A similar mentality should have been applied by the players even before the start of the first leg. We were never expected to beat Kuwait, let alone beat them on aggregate. If this had been the case, they probably would have performed better. They put unnecessary pressure on themselves, and there are a section of fans who also put a bit of pressure on them as they actually think and expect to beat Kuwait.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous25 July 2011 at 14:59

    GO FOR JUST THE GAME... This is just the Beginning...

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTJSt4wP2ME

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBD9h0jUq3w&feature=related

    Copy Paste and View (Remarkable Video, Fantastic Song)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous25 July 2011 at 15:03

    The truth of what you're saying was shown by the pre-game survey on this page. 2 out of 3 supposedly football savvy voters actually thought the Azkals would beat Kuwait in Kuwait.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous25 July 2011 at 15:32

    KIDDING ASIDE
    Just pray that it will RAIN during the game...hindi sanay maligo ang mga KUWAITIS, might help us to win...he he he

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous25 July 2011 at 15:34

    MIRACLE CAN HAPPEN ... IT WILL "RAIN" SCORES !!!
    GO AZKALS, GO PHILIPPINE TEAM !!!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous25 July 2011 at 16:04

    "KIDDING ASIDE
    Just pray that it will RAIN during the game...hindi sanay maligo ang mga KUWAITIS, might help us to win...he he he"

    You say kidding aside but then follow it up with a lame joke! Idiot!!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous25 July 2011 at 17:52

    at whose goal ??? did It say OURS... gets mo ba?

    Miracle can happen, bet you it will "rain" , but i don't bet the scores will be all ours...okey

    see the video it might refresh your mind a bit. nice one, will calm you down ...

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)