|
Post by dingodile5 on Dec 1, 2011 22:47:12 GMT 8
Nepal's luck of the drawThursday, 01 December 2011 17:20 Kathmandu: Hosts Nepal managed to avoid facing all three previous AFC Challenge Cup winners after the official draw for the 2012 edition of the tournament for emerging nations pitted them with Turkmenistan, the Maldives and Palestine in Group A. The Philippines, meanwhile, will have the proverbial mountain to climb when the tournament kicks-off in March next year with the only ASEAN nation in the finals pooled in Group B with inaugural champions Tajikistan, 2008 winners India and DPR Korea, who emerged victorious from the 2010 competition Nepal, who are coached by former England international defender Graham Roberts, open their campaign on March 8 against Palestine and will play the Maldives two days later having already played each other in the 2011 SAFF Championship on December 2. Reigning AFC Challenge Cup champions DPR Korea begin the defence of their title on March 9 when they face the Philippines, who are taking part in the tournament for the first time since the inaugural edition in Bangladesh where they drew 1-1 with Group B rivals India. AFC Challenge Cup - Nepal 2012 Group A Nepal Turkmenistan Maldives Palestine Group B DPR Korea India Tajikistan Philippines www.the-afc.com/en/tournaments/men-a-youth/afc-challenge-cup/37352-afc-challenge-cup-draw
MATCHES in Group B 9 March 2012 North Korea v Philippines (1st Game) 11 March 2012 Philippines v India (2nd Game) 13 March 2012 Tajikistan v Philippines (1st Game) What are their preparations for these AFC Challenge Cup Champions?
|
|
|
Post by stellarboy on Dec 1, 2011 22:51:43 GMT 8
I have already checked their games on March 2012. If they will be allowed by their clubs, they will miss 1 to 2 games depending how far can we go in this tournament. 1. Only 1 game will miss in their clubs if we on progress up to group stage only. 2. 2 matches will miss in their clubs if we proceed to semi-finals and finals. It's not bad for the club.
This is a national duty so I'm hoping that they would allow them to play for us. Our enemy is difficult to beat but I'm looking forward in this event to proceed to finals with the help of them.I'm really hoping to see them play for us. Although many of them are key players of the Euro clubs they're in and their current situations are very crucial. Stephan Schrock's Gruether Furth recently went out of the promotion zone, so they have to win the upcoming matches after the winter break. Roland Mueller's MSV Duisburg, on the other hand, is battling against relegation, and is bothered by injuries. The backup GK of the first team was recently injured, leaving him the 2nd GK, which compromised his availabilty for the LA Galaxy friendly. Dennis Cagara's Lyngby is on the relegation zone, while Jerry Lucena's AGF Aarhus is battling for promotion and Europa League qualification. And with them being very important players, it will be a compromise for the clubs not to have them while on national duty. Neil Etheridge is rumoured to be loaned back to Charlton Athletic next transfer window (a stint that went short this year, as he was called back earlier than usual following Stockdale's loaning to Ipswich Town) If he suits up as the starting GK, this will compromise his availability more.
I hope the PFF management will have established communication lines for these clubs, given these important tourneys.
|
|
|
Post by stellarboy on Dec 1, 2011 23:11:35 GMT 8
2012 AFC Challenge Cup Group B Fifa(Asian) Rankings North Korea 110(14) India 162(29) Tajikistan 139(20) Philippines 159(28)
Mysterious as it is, the North Korean football system is highly competitive. Their club system, although government-owned, is very tight-knit and highly disciplined.
Let me quote for you an insight of the North Korean team, from a Kuwaiti member in the bigsoccer forum:
Pelefan (cjeagle) kindly asked me to give you guys a rundown of how North Korea played in their friendly against Kuwait.
I'm not an expert on North Korean football so I must apologize for my lack of knowledge regarding what formations they're accustomed to using. All I can say is, the North Koreans are an extremely resilient side. It's going to be hard for the Philippines to knock them off their perch. I think North Korea will continue to dominate the AFC Challenge Cup in the coming years, I'm afraid.
Their passing is more fluid than even our own (Kuwait national) team. They seemed to be unaffected by our tough weather conditions, which leads me to believe they're prepared to take on even the most challenging environments, which probably includes the Philippines' humidity.
I will say the only comforting/relieving factor about the North Korean team is their apparent inability to score a lot of goals. Their average goals scored per game probably does not exceed 1 (or 1.5). Having said that, where they lack in one aspect of the game, the North Koreans sure make up for it by not conceding a lot of goals either. They're well organized in the back, and they're at the top of their game when it comes down to defending and discipline. Nevertheless, the Philippines could cause them quite a scare with some of their pacey forwards, who I remember seeing frequently over the two legs they've played against us in the World Cup qualifiers. So your forwards need to be fast and try to catch the North Korean defense napping on the counterattack, which might not happen a lot for the reasons aforementioned but it only takes one mistake for you guys to take advantage of.
I'd warn the Philippines defenders about one or two players in the North Korean squad who are sharpshooters from outside the 18 yard box. One of their players was inches away from scoring a long-range goal against us, but the ball ended up hitting both goalposts and luckily failed to cross the goal line. North Korea will always have the potential to either cause an upset or create goal-scoring opportunities out of almost nothing.
One last point I wish to emphasize is the determination and motivation the Azkals need when facing North Korea. They must realize how hungry for success the North Korean players are. A lot of them want a bright future for themselves and wont hesitate working hard, in order to impress potential scouts as well as to seize every opportunity coming their way that would allow them to play in international tournaments again.
Good luck to the Philippines. I'd like to see you qualify for the next Asian Cup.
|
|
|
Post by dingodile5 on Dec 2, 2011 9:01:12 GMT 8
Group B - AFC Challenge Cup Tajikistan - 2006 winner India - 2008 winner North Korea - 2010 winner PHILIPPINES - 2012 WINNER ;D o db puro champion hahaha XD I hope this will happen
|
|
|
Post by dingodile5 on Dec 2, 2011 10:12:58 GMT 8
|
|
|
Post by liverBLOODYREDpool on Dec 2, 2011 19:38:03 GMT 8
Group B - AFC Challenge Cup Tajikistan - 2006 winner India - 2008 winner North Korea - 2010 winner PHILIPPINES - 2012 WINNER ;D o db puro champion hahaha XD I hope this will happen i really love this prediction. sana magkatotoo. if only our coach will be a lot smarter than his competitors. ok naman mga players natin eh. kelangan lang magaling ang coach in maximizing their skills on the pitch.
|
|
|
Post by Caz on Dec 2, 2011 22:20:44 GMT 8
Ok players natin if our first team is available! PFF and Palami need to do everything they can to get our best team for this! :S
|
|
|
Post by stellarboy on Dec 4, 2011 18:45:03 GMT 8
Azkals in tough AFC drawPosted by Online on Dec 4th, 2011 // 0 Comments By JONAS TERRADO Manila, Philippines – The Philippine Azkals face a daunting task in the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup slated this March in Kathmandu, Nepal. That’s because the Azkals got an unfavorable draw for the Challenge Cup as they were bracketed in Group B alongside defending champion North Korea, India and Tajikistan. The draw, which was actually held on Thursday at the Nepalese capital, put the Filipino booters in a tough position to gain a semis berth. Group A is composed of Nepal, a country that the Azkals defeated 4-0 in a friendly game last October in Manila, Turkmenistan, Maldives and Palestine, which drew with the PH team in the Challenge Cup qualifiers in Myanmar. The Azkals, who will start training on Thursday, will open their Challenge Cup campaign against the Nokors on March 9, followed by a match with India on the 11th before wrapping up the group stage schedule with a clash with Tajikistan on the 13th. The top two teams from each group will advance to the crossover semis slated March 16 with the winners meeting in the finals three days later. Facing North Korea will be the toughest in the schedule for the Azkals. The Nokors, who made it to the World Cup twice including an improbable quarterfinal appearance in 1966, are ranked 110th in the world and ruled the 2010 event by beating Turkemenistan in the finals via penalty shootout. India is ranked 162nd in the FIFA rankings and hasn’t faced the Philippines since a 2-0 victory in the World Cup qualifiers in 1996 while the 139th-ranked Tajikistan settled for a scoreless tie with the Azkals in the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers in Iloilo City. www.tempo.com.ph/2011/azkals-in-tough-afc-draw/#.TtuMDbJbDg0
|
|
|
Post by Tiggy on Dec 4, 2011 22:41:56 GMT 8
Do you guys gave any Ideas on the friendlies before the challenge cup?
|
|
|
Post by Katipunero on Dec 5, 2011 10:50:51 GMT 8
Do you guys gave any Ideas on the friendlies before the challenge cup? I think we have one friendly scheduled against Malaysia in KL which we will play en route to Nepal. I really wish we had one or two more though
|
|
|
Post by fadzki on Dec 5, 2011 10:53:29 GMT 8
I think the azkals before going to Nepal we'll have another training camp in Japan like they always do...
|
|
|
Post by Caz on Dec 6, 2011 4:14:39 GMT 8
Will temperature and altitude be a factor like in Mongolia?
|
|
|
Post by stellarboy on Dec 6, 2011 11:41:48 GMT 8
@thedeanquinito Quinito Henson:
coach weiss says azkals wil play a top national team, cud be a past world cup qualifier-tougher than nepal-feb 29 here in FIFA match day
|
|
|
Post by stellarboy on Dec 6, 2011 12:06:54 GMT 8
Will temperature and altitude be a factor like in Mongolia? Definitely. This is definitely a concern for the team, as Kathmandu is located in the foot of the Himalayan mountains at 4,600 ft above sea level. Primary concern will be the very thin air pressure in this location. The players will be sipped of their strength because of low levels of oxygen and single-digit to below-zero temperatures, much like what they've experienced in Ulaan Baatar. Another concern aside from this factor is that Nepal's national stadium, the Dasarath Rangasala Stadium, isn't well maintained and is close to outdated as Rizal Memorial was before the recent renovation. The field, according to sources I'm reading, is dusty and full of visible patches. But there are recent developments to convert the pitch to an artificial turf before the tournament, but the sources are still unclear as of date. This will definitely be a challenge to our booters.
|
|
|
Post by Wiking on Dec 6, 2011 14:35:34 GMT 8
Actually a simple solution to this problem is to train a few weeks at the same high altitude. Where you ask? In Baguio! Baguios average asl is 5,100 ft. Btw, It was winter in Mongolia when we played them. We play Nepal in March, which is SPRING time. For those of you unfamiliar with 'spring' its the season after winter when life "springs" back out, as in greenery is again blooming: "Spring (between March – May): The temperature is mildly warm in low lands while moderate in higher altitudes with plenty of opportunities to have tryst with the mountain views. It is also the time for flowers to blossom and the national flower of Nepal – rhododendron sweeps the ascending altitudes with its magnanimous color and beauty." www.visitnepal.comTemperature shouldn't be a problem unless there's a freak snow storm or cold front the day we play. Also, half of our starters are from cold weather areas too. Younghusbands, Jonsson, Gier, Burkey(VA), Moy(NY), Ott, JdJ we can even add our other FilAms delRo and Aly(if he plays).
|
|