Philippine Azkals Football Team reach highest ever FIFA ranking

Philippine Azkals National Football Team - image:Philstar.com/File

Azkals ascend in FIFA rankings

The Philippine Azkals got on Thursday their highest FIFA rankings so far at 124.

The Azkals that was ranked 137th in the world last month, climbed 13 notches following their success in the joint World Cup and Asian Cup qualifiers.

Consequently, the Philippines remained the No.1 team in the Southeast Asian region and No.17 in the continental rankings. The Azkals will continue their journey to the World Cup on September 8 when they face Uzbekistan in a home game at the Philippine Sports Stadium.

Meanwhile, Newbie Azkal Luke Woodland might be the possible answer to the team’s center back problem according to veteran defender Rob Gier.

“I do see him as a central midfielder in the future but in the meantime having more competition for places in all areas of the team can only be good for the development of the squad,” Gier said on Woodland in an interview with The Manila Times.

Woodland, who is currently searching for a club after being released by long-time team Bolton Wanderers FC, last played for Oldham Athletic FC on a one-month loan agreement with his mother club.

At the young age of 19, Woodland is a seasoned competitor having represented England in youth level international tourneys.

Gier believes that Woodland, standing six-foot tall fits perfectly in the back-line.

“Seeing his size and physique in person, it was obvious that he could also be an asset at the back,” Gier said.

He added that Woodland could also fill-up a defense position.

“Center back has been a position we have struggled to find any real depth so learning that Luke is capable of play there is a big positive,” he said.

Having three natural center backs, Gier, Juani Guirado and Amani Aguinaldo, it is crucial for the Azkals to put a competent man in the center back position.

After being barred to play in the first game against Bahrain because of eligibility issues, Woodland is now cleared to play for the Philippines.

He was part of coach Thomas Dooley’s new 3-5-2 formation used by the Azkals in their second game against Yemen.

“He dealt with the disappointment of missing out on the first game very professionally and produced a solid display against Yemen,” Gier said.  - The Manila Times

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Score 4 - 0 football - Philippines Azkals crashed Nepal Gorkhalis

Nepal Gorkhalis coach Paul Graham Roberts promised yesterday that his visiting squad will put on a show.  Instead, his team was reduced to a mere spectator of the Philippine Azkals’ masterful performance before a roaring 8,000 home crowd tonight at the Rizal Memorial Football Field.

The 166th ranked Philippines Azkals put together their best performance to date as they blasted the 135th ranked Gorkhalis, 4-nil, to atone for their lackluster 0-2 loss to 136th ranked Singapore Lions last week.

Unleashing the full brunt of its attack, the Philippines crushed Nepal, 4-0, Tuesday night (October 11, 2011)  in an international friendly before a sizeable crowd at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila.

Phil Younghusband struck twice and set up one goal, while older brother James and substitute Matthew Hartmann were also on target in a thorough domination of a Nepalese side ranked 31 places higher than the Azkals in the international rankings

“We wanted to end the year with a bang and give a clear answer to people who are not happy with the team,” said Azkals coach Michael Weiss.

“This is the way we wanted to play. Not to be arrogant but 4-0 is a mild result.”

Showing the incisiveness and clinical finishing that had gone lacking in the previous matches, the Azkals scored two goals in each half in one of their best performances for the year fashioned out before 8,000 fans.

The Azkals got off to a blistering start with three clear-cut chances in the first 15 minutes, before they were rewarded by Younghusband’s close-range strike.

Paul Mulders provided the pass that split the Nepalese defense before Younghusband drilled the ball into the bottom right corner of goalkeeper Kiran Limbu.

The 24-year-old striker grabbed his second for the night with a cool left-footed finish in the 55th minute after a pinpoint pass from Dennis Cagara freed him from eight yards.

Younghusband barely missed a hattrick in the 68th minute, sending his low shot wide after a lofted pass from goalkeeper Neil Etheridge.

It was one way traffic in the first half with the Azkals enjoying plenty of possession and  James Younghusband, who had proven to be a menace on the right flank, finally getting on the scoresheet in the 30th minute.

James found the back of the net from 20 yards out after Nepal failed to clear the ball due to the Azkals pressure from the the top of the penalty box.

Weiss lauded the performance of the Younghusband brothers, who, around this time last month lost their mother, Susan, due to a massive heart attack.

“Every game we play is for our Mom and Dad, I know they are looking down on us and are very proud,” Phil said.

Ian Araneta could have added a third two minutes from halftime, but he was unable to get on a touch on Dennis Cagara’s dangerous low cross.

In a bid to salvage the game, the Nepalese side made three changes at halftime.

But it hardly mattered as Cagara, now more adventurous on the left flank, getting into dangerous areas.

Cagara, who like fellow Fil-Danish player Jerry Lucena, made his home debut had a shot wide before creating the chance for Hartmann.

The 26-year-old leftback found Phil Younghusband darting into the area, before the striker fed an unmarked Hartmann, who rifled in a well-placed left-footed strike from just outside the box in the 88th minute.

Nepal coach Graham Roberts lamented his squad’s inability to cope with the Azkals pressure and pointed to the lack of matches as the culprit to their sloppy performance.

“We were not sharp enough and when we make mistakes, you get punished,” said Roberts. “Our defending was absolutely abysmal.”

The game result of 4 – 0 in favor of the Philippines Azkals shows, the Azkals is continuously growing.

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Nepal Gorkhalis takes on Philippines Azkals Football Tuesday in friendly match

Azkals Vs Gorkhalis

As part of the preparation for the upcoming SAFF Championship to be held in New Delhi, India, in December 2011, Nepal is all set to begin the tour of ASEAN countries with its first clash against the national team of the Philippines Azkals at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in the capital city Manila on Tuesday (October 11, 2011).

The first tour match will be vital for both-the visiting team Nepal "Gorkhalis" and the home side.

The victory in the first match is sure to boost morale of the Nepali team which is set to play against three other countries namely Malaysia, Colombia and Thailand and some local clubs of those nations.

The match, at the same time, will be a prestige match for the host as it will be played at their home ground which is expected to pull huge crowd.

Similarly, the result will carry vital significance to the Philippines side which will play the final stage of AFC Challenge Cup at the Dasharath Stadium next year 2012.

The match is also expected to be a test for the ambitious Nepali national team "Gorkhalis" that started the tour of ASEAN countries to prepare itself for winning the SAFF Championship after 18 years.

Looking back at the history, Nepal has played against the Philippines only once during the Kings Cup in Thailand in 1982. Nepal had defeated the opponent 1-0.

Despite the fact that Nepal is placed above Philippines in both FIFA and AFC rankings, Nepali team´s British coach Graham Roberts is in no mood to take the match lightly and has dismissed the difference in the rankings between two teams is an advantage for Nepal.

Nepal ranks 135 and the Philippines 166 in FIFA rankings, while AFC rankings puts Nepal at 20 and the Philippines at 33.

"Ranking is not a great deal and low rank doesn´t mean that they are weak," Roberts had told Republica ahead of the team´s departure to Manila. "We will play against Philippines for victory and will try to improve our performance in every match we play."

"I have seen the Philippines side play. They are a very tough side. Some of their players play from European clubs and two of them are members of Premier League side Fulham. Our players are both physically and mentally fit and we will try to give our cent percent," Roberts had said, adding, "We have come here to play good football and we will not take any team lightly."

The Nepali team is in a good form following a tough two months training. Though the team´s confidence level is very high, Nepal does not have a good record of playing well abroad.

Nepal surely has a strong defense line up and the coach has termed his defense as world class. The midfield is also satisfactory but Nepal has always lagged behind in finishing and must come up with improved finishing for favorable result.

The Philippines coach Michael Weiss said during the pre-match press conference that he has a strong side and the team will be a mix-up of Europe based players and local players, according to goalnepal.com.

"We will take the match seriously as we are going Nepal next year for AFC Challenge Cup," Weiss said, adding, "We recently played against Singapore. We lost the match but boys played really well. I feel this is going to be a close tie."

Nepal will play its next match against Malaysian U-23 (Olympic team) in another friendly on October 15.

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Philippines Azkals 2014 -FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifiers versus Kuwait for 2-1

If you think the Philippine Azkals is over in the first half, then the team make a magic after they strive to win the game over the Mighty Kuwait for 2-1 score in favor of the Philippines Azkals.

In a  90-minute encounter, it was the experience and poise of Kuwait that prevailed as Al Azraq, despite playing with 10 men in the second half, still found their way to wipe out Phl’s one-goal edge and steal a 2-1 win last night in the 2014 Fifa World Cup Asian Qualifiers Second Round at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.

Together with the 3-0 verdict they posted in Kuwait last Saturday, Al Azraq won the two-game series on goal aggregate, 5-1, to earn a berth in the third round and dash the Azkals’ World Cup hopes at least for now.

“This game and the previous game show how bitter and hard football can be,” said Azkals coach Michael Weiss, who’s still a picture of optimism despite failing to scale the Everest-like challenge of Kuwait, the 10-time Gulf champions.

“A team like us that’s been fighting so bravely in the last six months, and even back to the Suzuki Cup last year, can be punished so severely. That’s a hard lesson to learn and take,” he added.

Fuelled by the enthusiastic crowd at the historic venue, the Azkals drew first blood and went into the break ahead, 1-0, enjoying the prospect of pulling a W over the mighty Al Azraq.

Fil-German Stephan Schrock, suspended in the first leg, was all over the place in his return to action. Schrock sent the leather home from 20 yards in the third minute of added time in the first half, setting off pandemonium all around the venue as tunes of Pinoy Ako and Impossible blared.

The Azkals got an added advantage in the 58th when Fahad Al Ebrahim was sent off for a hard tackle on Chieffy Caligdong.

But the personnel disadvantage inside did not dampen Kuwait a little.

Yousef Naser knocked down the equalizer on a long-range shot at the 61st, silencing the Filipino crowd which was then in the mood for celebration.

Al Azraq put the dagger on the stunned Filipinos in the 85th when Waleed Jumah knocked it down on a through ball that had goalkeeper Neil Etheridge rushing out.

“I think the team can take this defeat. We had to take it fairly and also acknowledge that we went up against a tough opponent,” Weiss said. “(Kuwait) Coach Goran (Tufegdzic) sees his team going all the way through the World Cup this year.”

Al Azraq advanced to the third round where Japan, Australia, South Korea, Bahrain and North Korea have been seeded, along with 14 other winners of Round 2.

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