DON’T look now, but Kuwait had somebody who scouted the second leg of the Asian World Cup qualifier between the Philippines and Sri Lanka at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium last Sunday.
A reliable source told Malaya Business Insight that Kuwaiti Badeer Ahmad, an AFC referee’s assessor, was among those who witnessed the Azkals whip the Red Devils 4-0 to advance to the second round against the Middle East country.
"He (Ahmad) was not here in an official capacity so it was obvious he was here to scout the match," the source said.
The nationals will be the underdogs against the Kuwaitis, who are currently ranked No. 102 in FIFA world ratings, 57 notches higher than the Filipinos.
The Azkals face the Asian soccer giants in Kuwait City in the opening leg on July 23 and the rematch on July 28.
The Kuwait team, however, won’t be an unknown quantity to his charges, according to German coach Hans Michael Weiss.
"Someone has already furnished us tapes of Kuwait when it played in the recent Asian Cup and I know it played and won recently against Saudi Arabia," Weiss said. "I know watching two matches will not be enough to make an evaluation but at least we have something to work on."
As part of their build-up for their clash against Kuwait, the Azkals are scheduled to leave for Bahrain next week to acclimatize to the Middle East heat and play a pair of tune-up games.
Malaya.com
Despite having only 2 matches available to him, I think Coach W will use his network to gather as much intel about Kuwaiti football so we can take advantage of their weaknesses and neutralize their strengths.
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GO AZKALS! Beat Kuwait!!