By Ryan Songalia
BOCAUE, Philippines - Group H of the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers was dubbed the Group of Death for a reason. On Tuesday, September 8, the Philippine Azkals discovered that reason.
The Philippine national football team was drubbed by Uzbekistan, 1-5, at the Philippine Sports Stadium in Bocaue, Bulacan, Philippines.
As the torrential rains and intermittent lightning began to die down, the nightmare was just beginning for the Philippines. A slow roller from Uzbekistan’s captain Odil Ahmedov slipped through the rain-soaked gloves of Azkals goalkeeper Neil Etheridge barely 45 seconds into the match, giving Uzbekistan the lead.
Uzbekistan, which is rated by FIFA 49 spots above the Philippines at 76, would tack on goals from Igor Sergeev and Sardor Rashidov before the first half ended. Still, the announced 7,500 fans sprinkled across the stadium never dampened their enthusiasm, as chants of “Pil-i-pinas” continued to ring out across the open-air venue.
The second half began as ignominiously for the Philippines as Sergeev tacked on a second goal at the ’65 mark. It wasn’t until Stephan Schrock, who came on at halftime in relief of Iain Ramsay, that the Philippines scored its first goal of the game at the ’68 mark. The score was Schrock’s fourth international goal, but the closer margin wouldn’t last.
Ten minutes later Rashidov scored his brace to give the Uzbeks a 1-5 lead at ’79. By then, the chants became less hopeful, and some fans made their exits ahead of Bulacan traffic.
The loss was a reality check for the Philippines, which had beaten Yemen and Bahrain in June to earn 6 points. The loss now puts the Philippines behind Uzbekistan, which beat Yemen and lost to North Korea, in goal differential. North Korea leads the group with 9 points while the Philippines and Uzbekistan have 6 each.
The Philippines will next play North Korea on October 8 in Pyongyang, followed by a rematch in Bahrain on October 13. –Rappler.com
what must be done for the team to improve? the game was like azkals vs thai last suzuki cup. it was like we were the thais in this game who are smaller and less tactical than the uzbeks. However, despite the height and techniques, thais managed to plan better and pulled a win against us at that time.
ReplyDeleteBut still, the Philippine Azkals are always in our heart...we still B E L I E V E that our Philippine Azkals national team had been doing their best for our country, despite the result 1-5, its another step to look forward to learned the lesson/s from tonight's game....Kept on doing some more practiced and more international friendly games from the higher rank teams (FIFA world ranking) Mabuhay Philippine Azkals ...we are proud of you ( OFW Middle East ) ..
ReplyDeleteLong balls pa rin tayo , limang taon na ito at matatangkad pa mga players ng kalaban lalo na Uzbeks na pawang naglalaro sa Russian Premier League ang karamihan. Yung depensa natin nagbago din ang line up kaya maraming bola ang nakapasok. Lucena , Steuble at Palla ay mga makeshift defenders dahil injured sila Juani , Rob at Rota. Kundi lng mabilis at alisto sa Sato malamang sobra pa sa lima ang na iskor ng Uzbeks. Malaking kapalpakan ang taktika ni TD at paglagay nya ng bagong defenders plus sub pa si Shrock imbes na i start sya.
ReplyDeletemapipilitan talaga sila mag long ball naka full pitch press ang mga Uzbekis..bantay sarado and talagang magaling and mas experience sila sa Azkals.
Deletekahit sumama pa sa NT ang De guzman brothers and si Alaba kung ganyan kalakas ang Uzbeks di pa rin tayo mananalo.
at least naka pektos ng long shot from free kick si Shrock para maging 1-5 ang resulta hindi rout tulad ng nangyari sa Malaysia.
strategy ni Dooley na gawing super sub and game changer si Shrock pagpasok ng 2nd half kaso tambak na at nagdadagan pa ng dalawa ang scoreline ng UzBEKIS.
Azkals Europe: Why dis coach ignore players like Michael Kemptner Filipino PRO PLAYER in FC ZURICH, Goalkeeper Baumann ( german BUNDESLIGA SCHALKEo4) and JEFFREY MALCHAREK ( former Bundesliga club RWO ) ???? SIMPLE TASKS to UPDATE the TEAM and to make it BETTER . Mr. DOOLEY seems not to like that our Azkals won vs UZBEKISTAN . VERY UNNICE ! BUT maybe Mr. Palami organized d NT and Mr. Dooley had no INFLUENCE selecting d players?
ReplyDeletePaul Weiler, STFU!
Deleteunder the contract of Azkals Manager Dooley na napagkasunduan ni Palamai and ng PFF ay i train and develop ang mga homegrown player from collegiate league and UFL para sa long term program ng national team.
Deletekaya nagkaroon ng chance sila Deyto,Amani Aguinaldo,Paolo Bugas,Amita and UFL booters Daniels,hartmann,Sato,Villanueva and Rota.
medyo binawasan nila ang pag recruit ng Euro based and Filipino-foreigners to give way para sa mga local players.
sa Presscon pa lang bagong mag start ang match againsts Uzbekis prangkahan na sinabi ni Dooley na underdog ang Azkals and slim ang chances na manalo.
maybe they are using WC qualifiers in preparation for 2016 AFF Suzuki Cup na Co-host ang Pilipinas para to make excellent impression sa home fans.
lahat ng players ay through recommendation ni Palami and ng PFF dun na lang pipili si TD na isasama nya sa national pool.
kaya lang ni recruit yung mga filipino-foreigner like Palla,Ingreso,Woodland and Lain Ramsey dahil kailangan ng Azkals na mas maging competitive sa WC qualifiers so Dooley rely in their individual talent and experience.
medyo nag hugot and pick up system sila kaya depend muna sa filipino-foreigner para sigurado dahil kung puro UFL homegrown ang sinabak baka ma massacre at mas malala pa sa nangyaring rout sa Malaysia.
"SIMPLE TASKS to UPDATE the TEAM" ... Hindi po simple ang mag-recruit ng foreign based footballer.
ReplyDeletecorrect ...aside sa bonds and insurance para ma released sa mother footclub abroad.
Deleteilalakad pa ng PFF at ni PFF yun documents nila sa DOJ,BID and passport sa DFA.
kasama pa ang accommodation,board and lodging, plane ticket from abroad to Pilipinas.
kaya mas naging practical ang pag train ng mga homegrown talent from UFL and collegiate league para sa national pool.
can someone shoulder my question, why Roland Muller as goalkeeper and Stephan Schroeck did not play from d begin and why dribble "king" Misagh Bahadoran did play again?
ReplyDeleteAndyan na naman kayo that is football pag manalo sa next game andyan na naman kami Edi wow.
DeleteValid questions yan mga tol. Parte yan ng processo ng winning and losing.
DeleteOk naman si Misagh kaso pagdating sa final 3rd ay nagmamali ang decision. Risk talaga na ilagay si Misagh instead ba si Schrock. Sana sa susunod huwag na idoubt ng coaching staff si stefan Schrock alam na nila ngayon ang quality niya
dooley used Stephan Shrock para maging game changer and secret weapon niya kaya lang too late the hero..malaki na ang scoreline ng visitors.
Deletekahit ipasok sa first half si Shrock dodoble pa rin ang scoreline ng UzBekis lahat ng pektos at shot nila sa goal pasok kahit outside penalty area hindi sila sumasablay.
bihira ang over the bar and maka wide shot ang uzbekistan kung hindi papasok sa Net sigurado ang bagsak ng tira sa kamay at simukra ni Etheridge.
magandang experience yang Uzbekistan para sa Philippine 11.
next time kung mag tune up game para sumabak sa home stadium ng Uzbeks sana ang piliin ng PFF na ka friendly ng Azkals hindi yung tulad ng Maldives..
subukan nila sa friendly mga Eastern Europeans like Estonia,Lithuania,Croatia,Moldova,Georgia and Macedonia at least medyo similar sa laro and built ng mga Uzbekistan
I hate foreign-recruiting kind of teams in any sports. Half blood or whatever, they are all foreign products and what Philippines has done is just reaping the fruits without any efforts or investments in football. This shouldn't be a way to make a national team in football world. So... JUSTICE HAS BEEN SERVED.
ReplyDeleteThe smoke screen come off from this game.
DeletePalami have been busy organising games with low level teams and will always give reason that no top teams are available.
They won't be bothered to play us anyway.
DeleteTanga ka pala eh.
ReplyDeleteI think the azkals and fans just landed. There has been so much talk about qualifying for the WC, that the chances were sooo good that they all thought they were so close, but in reality is that theyre not that close, and its hard even if they got recruits from abroad. I think the azkals needed this loss, and that they will fight back harder next time and they will be better prepared.
ReplyDeleteTalking about WC qualifying only after beating one of weaker Middle East side Bahrain at home and war-suffering Yemen? lol That just shows how ignorant PH football fans are. They just have no idea what kind of efforts it takes for the WC, and why even a country like Uzbekistan has never qualified yet.
Deleteuhmm, the azkals and management did not for a second said/think they will go to the world cup. we are here for the ASIAN CUP. simon mcmenemy even said it on national TV. it says so on the tickets and the official name of the tournament.
Deletewe can't blame the ignorant bandwagon effect..yun lang ang paraan para i promote ang football sa Pilipinas.
DeletePFF, Palami and Dooley they have no expectations and hindi sila umaasa na makakabot ng mga susunod na rounds and mag survive ang NT until 2017 para mag qualify lang Russia.
their target is AFF Suzuki Cup title and yung pag co host ng event with Myanmar.
marami pang kakaining palay at gulay ang Philippine eleven para umabot sa level ng uzbekistan,iran,iraq,uae,japan and Korea kahit nga China mas malakas sila sa Pilipinas.
kailangan talunin muna natin ang Asean powerhouse Thailand and regular na paluhain ang Vietnamese fans sa consistent na pagkato ng NT nila sa Azkals tuwing AFF cup
We should rethink that 3 5 2 formation against powerhouse teams
ReplyDelete3-5-2 or 3-4-3 will work against Arab teams but not against the likes of Uzbekistan or the rest of Asia's non-Arab Top teams
ReplyDeleteit also won't work against talented Persians ..kaya they have very excellent sports progam they played like Europeans in basketball, football and volleyball.
DeleteIts a part of a game., folks..what the Philippine Azkals doing.. its for the country, win or loss we should always support our national team, there are many up-coming games for the AZKALS....dreaming the WC or even the AC-Asian Cup its not that easy...but our National Team AZKALS are kept on showing the whole world all their best...manalo man o matalo...andyan na yan, but we all knew that the whole team knew what are those mistakes and we are sure that they learned that mistakes from Uzbekistan match..1-5.
ReplyDeletedon't be so naive. play for the country? nah, they are like half filipino mercenaries who get paid for playing as azkals and besides, playing for any national team in fifa official tournaments boosts your career and helps better club signings. They play for PH only because that's the only possible option for them.
Delete@Anon 9:07. It certainly boosts their club careers. But it also depends if you play well for your country.Are you also aware how much the salaries of these guys in the first place. Get real you are still bitter about these "half" Filipino Nazis while majority of the players play in the UFL. No matter if they resettle here and play UFL they will be always "not pure" Filipino in detractors eyes.
DeleteThats Eric Dimzon for you.
DeleteYan ang mahirap pag matanda na mga Fil-Foreigners nyo( palagi nlng may injury) kaya tuloy nasira ang anchor ng depensa natin. Bakit pa kasi kumuha ng hindi natural na defender si TD at palami which is Woodland na more on holding midfielder ang trabaho talaga. Tapos tatlo lng ang depensa against the number 76th in the World? Marunong ba talaga mag scout itong si Dooley? Well see against North Korea kung natuto na ba itong coach na to.
ReplyDeleteJust asking? Parang wala nagawa si Phil as game na yun.
ReplyDelete