The Philippine men’s national football team’s build up to the 2016 ASEAN Football Federation Champions, or the Suzuki Cup, will reach its peak as they take on strong Asian sides Bahrain and North Korea, starting with the Gulf nation tomorrow at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium, for a series of international friendly matches.
In the pre-match press conference for the Bahrain clash, Head Coach Thomas Dooley has welcomed the recent rise of the Azkals in the FIFA Rankings this month. He also believes that the next friendlies will boost their confidence heading into the biennial regional tilt.
The national team mentor, however, noted that the Azkals should not be complacent just because they are the best Southeast Asian team on paper. “It should give us confidence going into games, and we are in a position to show them why we are there, and you are over there,” he said. “If you have the mentality going into those games in the tournament and then you will be successful.”
“But if you underestimate a team, and overestimate your abilities, it obviously is a problem,” he added.
The Azkals are also frequently reminded they are doing this for the country. Dooley shared that, “So this is most of the work that we have to do, just getting the players ready. They know what is at stake, not just individual players but for the PFF and for the nation. Because we try to tell them that you serve for the country.”
This may be the fourth time that the Azkals will take on Bahrain, but for Dooley and Azkals skipper Phil Younghusband, every match is an entirely new experience.
On Coach Dooley’s part, taking on teams like Bahrain is a good gauge of where they stand as a unit. He said, “I want to play against good, strong teams.”
“We can learn from those games. If we play against strong teams like Bahrain, then we have to fight and we have to put everything on the plate to win the game. Those are the games I want to play.”
Younghusband also added that they have only won against the Bahrainis once in the previous three outings (the 2-1 win in last year’s joint World Cup/Asian Cup qualifiers), and they have still something to prove against their next opponents.
The team captain noted that their lone win had been held at a different stadium. He said, “We’re playing at Rizal this time, so there are different conditions, different turf, and different players. Each game is different, and we always go with something to show.”
The Philippine Azkals and the Bahrain men’s national team will battle tomorrow at 8pm at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium. Tickets are still available at Ticket World outlets.
