THE Philippines hosts Nepal at the Rizal Memorial Stadium hoping to kick-start its campaign to finally qualify for the Asian Cup.
The Group F match is set at 8 p.m. with the Azkals earning the favorites tag for having beaten the Nepalese each time they faced each other in the last 35 years.
The Philippines blanked Nepal in each of the matches they played—1-0 in 1982, 4-0 in 2011 and 3-0 in 2014, all on friendlies.
“This is the competition we are looking forward to this year. It is important that we have a good start,” Azkals team captain Phil Younghusband told a pre-match press conference on Monday at the Century Park Hotel.
Azkals coach Thomas Dooley said that he won’t take Nepal’s No. 170 Fifa ranking for granted—the Philippines is No. 124 in the world.
“We cannot underestimate Nepal. Nepal spent three weeks preparing for this tournament,” Dooley said. “They are getting better and better also. It will be a very, very tough game. Nepal has some very interesting players. We will be in trouble if we don’t step up.”
Step up the Azkals must. They will play without Misagh Bahadoran and Kevin Ingreso because of injuries.
Bahadoran hurt his knee in the friendly against Malaysia last week, while Ingreso pulled his hamstring in the practice.
Scoring, Dooley stressed, is also bothering his side, a weakness that reared itself in last year’s Asean Football Federation Suzuki Cup where the Azkals settles for two draws. They also settled for a scoreless draw with Malaysia last week.
Younghusband, who has played 86 matches and scored 43 goals since 2006 as an Azkal, expressed confidence on the eve of the match.
“The team has gotten better and stronger. We know we have such a great opportunity here,” he said. “This is a different game, a different test. Previous results give us confidence, but we have to make precautions.”
Also on the team are James Younghusband, Manny Ott, Amani Aguinaldo and Iain Ramsey as well as returning goal keeper Neil Etheridge, Javier Patiño, and Daisuke Sato.