The Philippine Azkals national football squad has played a major role in the renaissance of the so-called beautiful game in the country. Time will surely come when Filipino fans start talking more about Chelsea, Manchester United, or FC Barcelona than the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, or Miami Heat. With the Azkals moving forward to the second round of the 2014 FIFA-World Cup qualifiers, national interest has gone up big-time as the two-leg tier against Arab powerhouse Kuwait approaches. This is the biggest test that the Azkals will be facing since their impressive showing in the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup. As of the latest FIFA rankings, Kuwait is occupying the 102nd spot while the Philippines are in 159th place. But in the world of football, anything can happen in the pitch and big upsets are always a serious threat. Expect the Azkals to train Spartan-like as they head to Kuwait for the first leg of the tier on July 23. Here are some of the insiders views from the Azkals camp:
Michael Weiss (Azkals Head Coach): “Regarding Kuwait, that will be a different level. We have to put all our strengths together and play smartly there to get a good result. To oppose and obstruct the game of the opponents... that will be our strategy. Even if we are not with the best squad, we only have 5 to 6 players from the top team that will probably step on the pitch against Kuwait... we have a list of these players, we try to prepare them as good as possible.”
Mariano Araneta, Jr. (President, Philippine Football Federation): “We expect a hard and physical match against Kuwait and our defense will be severely challenged. Our defense must hold up. Kuwait just beat Lebanon, 6-0, in a friendly and the match ended in a free-for-all with security forces firing gunshots into the air to stop the brawl.”
Jason de Jong (Azkals Midfielder): “Kuwait’s ranked like 50 places above us; they play physical and they are very big guys. It’s gonna be a tough match, that’s what I expect.”
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