Sports
PH Azkals fight hard in 2019 Asian Cup debut against Korea
“Be proud, Pilipinas! We performed well against the #56 ranked team in the world! We still got China and Kyrgyzstan next!
Sit tight!” (Photo: @TheAzkalsPH/Twitter)
The Philippine Azkals suffered a loss from their first game in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup against team South Korea as the score ended at 1-0 during their match last Monday, January 7 at the Al-Maktoum Stadium in Dubai.
For the Koreans, it was Hwang Ui-Jo that scored during the 67th minute of the game from the six-yard box.
Coach Sven-Goran Eriksson subbed veteran striker Phil Younghusband into the game at the 89th minute, but the Filipinos were not able to answer back Hwang’s shot. It took 16 tries for Korea before receiving that goal, only five of the attempts on target. The Philippines, on the other hand, tried to score six times, two attempted by Javi Patino.
Despite the loss, the Azkals are looking at the game as a positive outcome, because they were able to keep it close the entire time with the fourth-ranked Asian team. According to defender Luke Woodland, they’re “not just taking part in this tournament,” stating, “It’s our first time, but we showed today how good a team we are. It’s a quality team we played against.” Woodland added, “We’re looking forward to the last two games and I think we’re gonna shock some people.”
The next game of the Azkals is on Friday, January 11, where they will be facing Team China at the Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, followed by Team Kyrgyzstan on the 16th at the Maktoum Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium once again. This is the tournament’s biggest ever team pool yet, expanding from 16 teams to 25 teams from the last season in 2015. Prior to flying to the United Arab Emirates, Coach Eriksson told the media, “I think at this Asian Cup, with this generation of players, the Philippines have the chance to show that football is good in the Philippines and qualifying for the Asian Cup will help,” concluding, “If we can go through that will mean a lot for the country.”
