Azkals begin Southeast Asian Tour - A look at the oppositionROY MOORE September 4, 2012 2:47pm
The Azkals have landed in Cambodia where they will begin their Southeast Asian tour, with friendlies arranged against Cambodia on Wednesday, September 5, Singapore on September 7, and Laos on September 10.
The tour is an opportunity for the Philippines to stamp their authority in the football world, having risen so rapidly to where they are now, ranked third in Southeast Asia, and within striking distance of Thailand and Vietnam at the top. Cambodia and Laos are traditional minnows in the region and the Philippines will be expected to record comfortable victories over them, while the Azkals can avenge their 2-0 loss to Singapore the last time they played, with a victory on Friday.
All of these games aim to improve the Azkals and prepare them for the Suzuki Cup later this year, which is set to be one of the most competitive iterations of the tourney ever. The rise of the Philippines sees six potential winners in Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines in one group and Indonesia, Singapore and current holders Malaysia in the other.
Should the Azkals win out, that could mean valuable momentum for them, headed into the Suzuki Cup.
CambodiaThe first opposition for the Azkals will be Cambodia, currently ranked 191st in the world. Over forty places behind the Azkals, the Philippines is 150 in FIFA rankings, Cambodia has not played a competitive match since losing to Laos in extra time of World Cup Qualification, early July last year.
The Azkals will certainly be looking to pounce on any rustiness the Cambodians show, as they have not played for over a year. Much of their fall to the lower end of the rankings table is due to their lack of matches, as Cambodia was 170th in the world after their aggregate 8-6 aggregate loss to Laos back in July, 2011.
The inclusion of Jerry Lucena and Paul Mulders will strengthen the team in the absence of James Younghusband, Lexton Moy, and Angel Guirado, who are all suspended for a ‘breakdown in discipline’ and a ‘failure in leadership.’ Coach Michael Weiss and manager Dan Palami will also be forced to sit in the stands for the games against Cambodia and Singapore, though against Cambodia, this shouldn’t have too much of an effect with Assistant Coach Edwin Cabalida taking over in the meantime.
Given the Azkals’ rise to the third top team in Southeast Asia, Cambodia has slipped to ninth in Southeast Asia, ahead of Laos, Brunei, and Timor-Leste. As Cambodia has only played minnows in recent years, the Azkals are expected to win comfortably and will be disappointed with anything less. The last time the Philippines played Cambodia was in the 2010 Suzuki Cup qualifiers, and they will be expected to improve greatly on the 0-0 scoreline from back then.
SingaporeSingapore, meanwhile, poses a much greater threat to the Azkals. Despite being ranked twelve places below the Philippines in FIFA rankings, Singapore is still twenty places above them in the typically more accurate ELO ratings. The last match between the two was just in October last year, and it saw Singapore win 2-0. In that game, Shaiful Esah opened the scoring with a deflected shot from a corner and Aleksandar Đurić capped the win with a powerful run and shot.
Since then Singapore has won only one in nine games, and that victory was in their most recent match against Hong Kong. Part of the reason for that is after beating Malaysia in the second round of World Cup Qualification 6-4 on aggregate, Singapore made it to the third round, which is a group stage. Facing Jordan, Iraq, and China, they understandably lost all six matches, four of which came after their friendly win over the Philippines.
However Singapore also lost 1-0 to Hong Kong before their 2-0 win in August, and they lost 2-0 to Malaysia after a 2-2 draw in a home and away friendly series with their Southeast Asian rivals. Recent results certainly seem to show that Singapore is not the powerhouse it once was.
With James Younghusband finishing his suspension in the Cambodia match and the possibility of Stephan Schröck coming in for this game, the Azkals may well have the edge in terms of personnel. The question will be whether they can work better as a team. If they can, then despite home advantage, Singapore will be unlikely to cope with the formidable firepower of the Azkals. On paper, the Azkals should be able to beat Singapore and send a message to Southeast Asia ahead of the Suzuki Cup.
Consistency isn’t a trait the Azkals have shown of late, however, as they are coming off the back of a disappointing 3-1 loss to US club Chicago Inferno. This game, then, is set-up to be a good test of how far the Azkals have come, and perhaps how far the Singaporeans are falling. However without Palami and Weiss, this fixture may be a little bit tricky.
LaosAt 194 in the world, Laos is ranked as the lowest of the Azkals’ opponents. A traditional minnow of Southeast Asian football, this will also be Laos’ first game in 2012.
Laos played six games in 2011, four in World Cup Qualification after beating Cambodia in the first round, before losing 13-3 on aggregate to China in the second round. The other two games were AFC Challenge Cup Qualification matches, where they lost 6-3 on aggregate to Taiwan.
With Laos not scheduling any friendlies since October 2010, they are in stark contrast to the Philippines, which will have six matches in September, the same number Laos played in all of 2011. Like Cambodia, Laos’ lack of regular football as a nation will mean the Azkals will be heavily favored.
The Philippines’ only win in the ill-fated SEA Games campaign also came against Laos, with a dramatic late double from Joshua Beloya. The top scorer of the entire competition was Laotian Lamnao Singto, who showed his quality despite Laos only winning one game as well.
Singto will be their top threat again, but with a full strength squad this time around, the Philippines will be unlikely to need late goals to get anything from the game. The last time Laos and the Philippines played was also in 2010 Suzuki Cup Qualification, and the Azkals will be expected to improve on their 2-2 draw. - AMD, GMA News
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