MANILA, Philippines - Former Philippine Football Federation (PFF) president Johnny Romualdez said yesterday he’s not ruling out an upset in the Azkals’ rematch against Kuwait in the second round of the World Cup Asia qualifiers at the Rizal Memorial Stadium tomorrow and if it pours, the rain could prove to be an advantage for the host nation.
Although the Azkals are down, 0-3, Romualdez said anything can happen when the ball’s in play. The pressure is clearly on the Azkals who not only must score four goals to win outright but also need to prevent Kuwait from booting in an “away” marker which counts for two points in the event of a tie.
“Battling back from 0-3 is hard, 0-2 is manageable and 0-1 is very doable,” said Romualdez. “If we had scored even just one goal in Kuwait, it would be a different story. But there’s hope. We’re getting back Aly (Borromeo) and Stephon (Shrock) so we’ll be stronger overall. It’s going to be very difficult to beat Kuwait but we’ve got a team that hates to lose. Gone are the days when our national team would get clobbered on a regular basis. About 10 years ago, we set goals to be competitive in the Asian Football Federation and Asian Football Confederation. I honestly think we’ve arrived. We can now play competitively against most of the Asian teams except perhaps the top-level countries like Japan and South Korea.”
Romualdez said Kuwait, once ranked as high as No. 24 in the world by FIFA, is a top-caliber team. “They’re not a 10-time Gulf Cup of Nations champion for nothing,” he went on. “They’re extremely skillful. In the game against the Azkals, Kuwait displayed impressive execution with short chip passes. Their players may be small but they’re sturdy. They’re in tip-top shape, just coming from a four-nation tournament. And they’re used to that hot Kuwait weather.
Leading to the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila is closed this Wednesday until tomorrow, Thursday, in anticipation of the qualifying football match between the Philippine Azkals and Kuwait for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, 990AM has reported.
The report said the stretch of Quirino Avenue and Vito Cruz was closed at 8 a.m. Wednesday.
The Azkals will play powerhouse Kuwait on Thursday with their backs against the wall, needing to score four goals after they were defeated, 0-3, in their away match in Hawalli in that country.
A win by four goals will allow the Azkals to make the third round for the first time while 3-0 will only send the game into extra time.
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