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Post by cjeagle on Dec 31, 2018 8:50:55 GMT 8
The Philippine Azkals have arrived in Doha, Qatar to kick off the final stretch of their preparations for their historic debut in the AFC Asian Cup to be held in the United Arab Emirates starting January 7. The Azkals face AFF Suzuki Cup tormentors Vietnam in a friendly on New Year's Eve as part of their preparations. The 23-man squad that will represent the country in its first-ever AFC Asian Cup appearance was revealed on December 27. tv5.espn.com/story/_/id/25635768/azkals-arrive-doha-ahead-afc-asian-cup
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Post by stingray11214 on Jan 3, 2019 2:31:14 GMT 8
That 4-2 loss to Vietnam does not look encouraging.
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Post by stingray11214 on Jan 3, 2019 2:36:36 GMT 8
I am starting to dislike the Malaysian owner of Cardiff City. Ever since he had that dinner with Etheridge at the Suzuki Cup, Etheridge has excused himself from playing for the Azkals. I bet if Etheridge played for Malaysia instead of the Philippines, they would have excused him for the Asian Cup. Right now, Cardiif City needs him more than the Azkals do. Short of a miracle, the Azkals are 3 and out. Neil Etheridge is the only thing that is probably keeping Cardiff City anywhere near staying in the Premiership. And, with only four defenders being called up by SGE, that backline had better be healthy. Otherwise things are going to get ugly very quickly.
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Post by cebujames on Jan 4, 2019 9:05:14 GMT 8
I am starting to dislike the Malaysian owner of Cardiff City. Ever since he had that dinner with Etheridge at the Suzuki Cup, Etheridge has excused himself from playing for the Azkals. I bet if Etheridge played for Malaysia instead of the Philippines, they would have excused him for the Asian Cup. Right now, Cardiif City needs him more than the Azkals do. Short of a miracle, the Azkals are 3 and out. Neil Etheridge is the only thing that is probably keeping Cardiff City anywhere near staying in the Premiership. And, with only four defenders being called up by SGE, that backline had better be healthy. Otherwise things are going to get ugly very quickly. This is definitely right. I think cjeagle is not being serious here but yeah, Cardiff City needs Neil very much in this stage of the EPL season. They can't afford to be relegated.
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Post by Caz on Jan 5, 2019 22:21:44 GMT 8
Fox Sports Asian Cup preview show's assessment of the Azkals' chances highlights:
Commentor 1 - Philippines is a team to watch out for. Commentor 2 - Eriksson will have minimal effect on the team. Chris Greatwich, however, is working well with him. Philippines are just coming from a grueling AFF Suzuki Cup. Schrock and Younghusband will be key. They should just be glad to be there.
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Post by cjeagle on Jan 6, 2019 11:58:23 GMT 8
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Post by goalie88 on Jan 6, 2019 14:52:30 GMT 8
"They should just be glad to be there." Ouch 😅😅😅, is this how they see our team? I hope we pull out some surprises hehehe. Go azkals go 😎😎😎
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Post by Caz on Jan 6, 2019 21:32:42 GMT 8
"They should just be glad to be there." Ouch 😅😅😅, is this how they see our team? I hope we pull out some surprises hehehe. Go azkals go 😎😎😎 I'm not certain about the pundit's name (John Wilkinson, I think?) but he has always underrated the Philippines and the team has proven him wrong quite often. I hope they'll do it again this time! The other pundit, Rhys Roshan Rai, at least recognized that the Azkals may pull off a surprise or two.
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Post by cjeagle on Jan 7, 2019 3:41:40 GMT 8
In today's Asian Cup schedule Jordan(which lost to Kyrgyztan, tied China and defeated India in their most recent friendlies) just defeated defending champion Australia in the Asian Cup and Thailand(which beat the Philippines in the Suzuki Cup a month ago) lost to India 1-4.
The Philippines are going to have a hard time in the group stage just looking at those results
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Post by cjeagle on Jan 7, 2019 5:40:35 GMT 8
South Korea v Philippines: Eriksson understands Etheridge's Asian Cup snub Sven-Goran Eriksson has no issue with Neil Etheridge's decision to prioritise Cardiff City's bid for Premier League survival over an Asian Cup campaign with the Philippines. Etheridge has been a star performer for Cardiff this term and elected to stay with the Bluebirds this month rather than join up with his national team. That has left Eriksson, who took charge of the Philippines in October, without his first-choice goalkeeper, but the former England boss sympathises with Etheridge's dilemma. "Of course it's a pity, but I understand, he wants to concentrate totally on his job with Cardiff," he told BBC News ahead of Monday's Group C clash with tournament favourites South Korea. "Cardiff is not on safe ground, so it's very important that he plays well, otherwise he might lose his place in the team, so I understand him. "I think he will play for Philippines in the World Cup, hopefully, but in qualification for sure." Eriksson was out of football for over a year following a failed spell at Chinese side Shenzhen, but insisted that he had no desire to remain away from the game, and jumped at the chance to manage the Philippines at their first Asian Cup appearance. "I don't need to work if I don't want to do it, I need it for my head to work," the 70-year-old added. "I don't know what it is, but doing nothing which is nothing to do with football, I don't like that kind of life. "I grow nervous, restless, I don't know what to do, and that's bad. One day it will finish, but I will hate that day. Football has become a huge drug, it's addictive." South Korea, currently ranked 53rd in the FIFA rankings, are heavy favourites to win Group C, which also includes China and Kyrgyzstan, but coach Paulo Bento has warned against complacency, adding that his side must take heed from Australia's 1-0 defeat to Jordan on Sunday. "We are ready to play against the Philippines," Bento told a news conference. "You always need to respect your opponents. "We can take a good lesson from [Australia's] result. I'm sure our players will stay focused." PLAYERS TO WATCH South Korea – Ki Sung-yueng South Korea will be without star man Son Heung-min for their opening two Group C fixtures, as the Tottenham forward is remaining with his club until after their clash with Manchester United on January 13. That means Newcastle United's Ki Sung-yueng must step up and take the initiative from deep, providing the ammunition for South Korea's forward line. Philippines – Phil Younghusband Philippines are not blessed with the talent that South Korea possess, but in Phil Younghusband, have a potent goalscoring threat. Having come through the ranks at Chelsea, the 31-year-old has become the Philippines' record goalscorer with a tally of 52, and is sure to be the focal point of their attacks. KEY OPTA FACTS - This will be the first encounter at the Asian Cup between South Korea and the Philippines. - This is South Korea's 14th Asian Cup appearance, the joint-most alongside Iran. - South Korea won the first two Asian Cup tournaments (1956, 1960). Since then, they have reached the final four times but have always been defeated, including the last tournament in 2015 (1-2 v Australia, after extra-time). - Philippines are one of three teams to make their Asian Cup debut this year, along with Kyrgyzstan and Yemen. Australia were the last team to reach the knockout stages of the competition on their first appearance (2007). uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/south-korea-v-philippines-eriksson-164630528.html
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Post by cjeagle on Jan 7, 2019 6:04:34 GMT 8
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Post by cjeagle on Jan 7, 2019 7:08:33 GMT 8
www.the-afc.com/asiancup/news/preview-group-c-korea-republic-v-philippines#nolinkPreview - Group C: Korea Republic v Philippines “Of course we don’t have the easiest of opponents in this tournament, we’re meeting one of the favourites to win the Asian Cup but there are always, now and then, surprises in football,” expressed Eriksson. “So why not even tomorrow?” Speaking at the pre-match press conference in Dubai, Eriksson wasn’t shy to show his excitement in leading the Azkals to their opening match of the Continental showpiece, declaring: “We are, of course, excited as most teams are because you’re about to play the first game in such a big tournament. “We have a team that has never been on this stage before, so that is very good for the whole country, the squad and everybody.” Although the Philippines face the daunting task of playing Korea Republic, who will be making their 14th appearance, Eriksson isn’t entirely concerned about his opponents. “When you meet such a good team, of course you’d have to look at how are they playing, what they are good at, what do you think they will do against us,” he said. “I think we have studied them enough, we think we know what they will be trying to do tomorrow but at the same time if you concentrate everything on how Korea Republic play, we will lose our identity. It is very important that we try to play our way as well. “Korea Republic is a big team, yes that’s for sure, but the Philippines is a big team as well from a big country. You will see tomorrow, that we have a lot of good football players. I’m sure that they are going out tomorrow, the starting-11, they are coming out to give Korea Republic a fight. “On paper, they are the strongest team in our group and one of the strongest in the tournament, we know that, but that’s on paper, we will see how that is in reality.” Group C includes a Marcello Lippi-led China PR and Kyrgyz Republic, who will also be making their debut in the Continental showpiece. While many have picked Korea Republic as the tournament favourites, head coach Paulo Bento has his feet planted firmly on the ground, emphasising his respect for teams competing in the UAE 2019 and acknowledging that it would be to their detriment to underestimate their opponents. “We are going to respect all the teams that we are going to play, and tomorrow we will have this behaviour since the beginning of the game, and we had this behaviour since the beginning of our preparations, which is the most important,” said Bento, who replaced Shin Tae-yong at the helm last August. “A big mistake would be that if we think the game is going to be easy. That is the worst mistake we can make. I believe we are not going to make that (mistake). I believe in my players in the way that they are going to play. “Our focus in this moment, is the game that we are going to play tomorrow. After that, we will think about the second, and after that, the third.” The 49-year-old Portuguese also revealed his knowledge on the Philippines. “We can conclude that Philippines is a team that uses two tactical systems. We will try to prepare our team for both situations, but at the same time, they are a team that uses counter-attacks in a good way with fast players. “It will be a difficult game, but we will try to dominate the game from the beginning, and I think we have a good chance to win the game, although there will be lots of difficulties.”
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Post by jas0n on Jan 7, 2019 9:49:07 GMT 8
Any idea how to watch the games for people outside Asia? The US specifically?
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Post by cypher210 on Jan 7, 2019 9:52:26 GMT 8
Any idea how to watch the games for people outside Asia? The US specifically? I usually look for livestreams on a subreddit called soccer streams
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Post by cjeagle on Jan 7, 2019 10:08:01 GMT 8
Any idea how to watch the games for people outside Asia? The US specifically? If you have cable or ROKU, apparently OneWorldSports has the rights in North America and this might be the list of channels associated with it in your area: golivesportscast.com/sample-page/watch-one-world-sports/I don't have cable or ROKU myself, so basically I am dependent upon livestreams whenever I can find it.
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