21 July 2011

Fighting draw will be huge for Azkals against Kuwa

By Cedelf Tupas

KUWAIT—A victory will be “massive” but a fighting draw against Kuwait will also be enough for the Philippine Azkals to leave this oil-rich country with a big measure of satisfaction.
As heavy underdogs in their second-round World Cup Qualifying clash, the Azkals are opting for a more conservative approach that could turn Saturday night’s match into a cagey encounter at the Mohammed El-Hammad Stadium in Hawalli.
“A 1-1 or 0-0 result will be huge for us,” skipper Aly Borromeo said. “If we let them whip us here, then the series is over. We are more worried about the first leg (on Saturday). It will set the tone for our home leg.”
The Azkals will have their turn hosting the Kuwaitis on July 28 at the Rizal Memorial Stadium. Tickets for the match are reportedly sold out.
For now, though, the focus is on neutralizing a vaunted Kuwaiti attack, which is enjoying a high level of confidence following impressive victories over Iraq and Saudi Arabia in a four-nation tournament in Jordan last week.
Borromeo said the pressure is on Kuwait to deliver a comprehensive win before its home fans.
“We’re always underdogs, so we’re not under pressure,” said the skipper, who is still awaiting the final decision on his one-game suspension for getting two yellow cards in the first-round win over Sri Lanka.
Though deprived of a complete lineup, Azkals coach Michael Weiss said he’s pleased with the buildup of his squad.
Leftback Ray Jonsson, who missed the Sri Lanka tie, was expected to arrive here yesterday, while goalkeeper Neil Etheridge will fly in on Friday.
“I’m quite content,” said Weiss. “I think that the boys are now counting the hours toward the match. As they say in England, it’s a massive match. It will give us an idea where we stand and I’m quite positive we can do well if we play the way we want to play.”
Weiss’ confidence stems from the fact that they have scouted the Kuwaitis well. “We have studied the opponent very carefully,” Weiss said. “The players know exactly what they are dealing with.”
The German mentor also shrugged off earlier fears that the warm weather here would pose a problem for his team, after supervising their first training Wednesday night where temperatures hovered from 32 to 38 degrees.
“It’s even more pleasant that the heat is not an issue,” said Weiss. “If (Wednesday night’s weather) is the same on Saturday, we would be fine.”
Kickoff is scheduled at 7 p.m. on Saturday (12 midnight Sunday in Manila).
Weiss acknowledged that a perfect execution of the game plan will be needed to stymie Kuwait.
“We have to be aggressive and tight and not let them start their game. That’s a thing that takes 90 minutes and we’ve seen before, small mistakes get punished immediately. They will not allow us to switch off our computer, as I always say, for one second.”

inquirer.net

14 comments:

  1. A draw would be mega great but i suppose they will get whipped out of the stadium there with a result making it impossible to turn the match at home. I guess 4-0 or 5-0 and with some experiences richer that they can't compete with that squad on a higher level..........

    ReplyDelete
  2. ^^Agreed! I would also say a 4-0 or 5-0 loss and perhaps a consolation goal would be possible.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Kuwait has a population of 1.25 million (actually 2.5 but the rest are foreign workers).
    Why should PH with a population of 95 million be scared of a little country like that?

    ReplyDelete
  4. That is so amateurish and boneheaded! WTF has population have to do with anything?!?! What's next? Because we have such a large population (way overpopulated in fact) that we should be able to beat them?!?!

    To add, population of the Philippines is already more than 101 million!!!! That in itself is already fucked up.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hehehe, if population has to do something with quality in football China and India would be the leading teams.........see where they are ;-)
    Kuwait benefits from its richness of the oil (like almost all Arabian countries)....so they can afford the best coaches, build the best facilities and infrastructure which is neccessary....and they can hire some pro players from abroad (even they are at the end of their career mostly) which increases the level in their leagues which automatically results in improving their domestic players. Unfortunately we are light years away from that.....MONEY is the biggest factor or at least one of the most important ones

    ReplyDelete
  6. MONEY Will be no Problem if sponsors would continue pouring in, add on the support of Advertisers, Ticket Sales , Memorabilia, Royalty and of course AFF and FIFA Annual Budget (wala pa diyan ang support Buying)... Corruption and palakasan system will be the mega factor that we should all be concerned about. We should learn from the past PFF experience...na Barya na lang compared to the funds now... Who is Accounting It --- ???

    PS. Population can be effective kung magbibigay ng P1.00 per month ang bawat Pilipino eh di may 101 million isang buwan ang mga players di ba!!! why don't we make a fund raising Piso para sa "ALAY ATHLETA" or "Para kay Bantay (Azkals)" But we should see to it all money raised should go directly to the "Legitimate" Athletes of our Country of any sports. Suggestion ko lang Po ito, but i feel the athletes will be very happy.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'M IN FOR THAT , I WILL PLEDGE 2 PESO PER MONTH, AT LEAST I WILL BE THE FIRST 0F THE 101 MILLION... NOW IT WILL ONLY TAKE 100,999,999 TO FOLLOW. YONG SOBRA BIGAY NA LANG SA MAHIRAP AND ITS UP TO THE ATHLETES TO SHARE IT.
    IMAGINE IF THIS COULD ONLY HAPPEN...THAT WILL BE 1.2 BILLION PER YEAR (if my calculation is right)that will be roughly $28M/year or S2.34M/month --- THINK ABOUT IT AND "BELIEVE"...

    ReplyDelete
  8. Population is an asset.

    ReplyDelete
  9. ...or make your donation for a better education system. why would i give my money to an athlete? hahaha. we're going over board here.

    ReplyDelete
  10. "Population is an asset."

    In the Philippines' case its not!!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. It is not because of wrong government policies and graft and corruption! Let's go back to football. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  12. It doesn't matter how genuine the government is, the Philippines is ridiculously overpopulated!! Therefore it isn't and never will be an asset!! End of...

    ReplyDelete
  13. footballl team!! GO! GO!GO!!! IWANAN NINYONG LUHAAN ANG MGA KUWAITIS!!

    let's hope that our government will also support our athletes by giving extra budget.. not just for themselves.. maawa namn kayo sa mga atleta natin..


    GO! PAULO PASCUAL!! We will pray for you and all azkals team!! GOODLUCK BOYS!!!

    ReplyDelete
  14. just pray for our team to defeat kuwait here in our country like what they did to sri lanka.. suporta lang kailangan ng azkals galing satin..

    ReplyDelete