The Philippine Azkals national men’s football team will have a lot of good chances to score and win games in the coming 2016 Asean Football Federation (AFF) Suzuki Cup, set to start next week at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan.
Assistant coach Chieffy Caligdong made this assessment after the Azkals got past Kyrgyzstan again, 1-0, Wednesday evening in a friendly at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.
“Sa transition from defense to attack, we’re good, we’re fast. We will have many chances,” remarked Caligdong.
The Azkals scored when when Misagh Bahadoran got a pass from Iain Ramsay and volleyed past Valery Kashuba from inside the box in the 65th minute.
“We created good chances in the second half, our breakaway from defense to offense,” added Caligdong, an Azkals veteran himself before retiring in 2014.
It was the Philippines’ second victory again the Kyrgyz in a friendly. The last time around, Bahadoran also scored the winning goal in their 2-1 win in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan’s capital, last September.
Even though the Azkals were victorious, head coach Thomas Dooley hopes to get a little more out of them next week. “We hope to get maybe 20 to 30 percent more from them,” he added.
The Azkals start their campaign in the AFF Suzuki Cup against Singapore on November 19th, followed by Indonesia on the 22nd. They close out the group stage against Thailand on the 25th.
World ranking points will be at stake for the first time in the Suzuki Cup after FIFA recognized the event as a Category A-ranked tournament.