index – Page 5 – Pinoy Soccer

The Philippines Start Their Campaign with a Sweet Victory

The Philippines Azkals kick off their campaign of the 2018 Suzuki Cup with a victory over Singapore with a triumphant 1-0. No goals were scored during the first half during which both the teams tried their hardest to score. It really seemed to be frustrating until the 78th minute when the atmosphere changed exceptionally by the goal of Patrick Reichelt and filled itself with tension for Singapore at the same moment. He was assisted by Phil Younghusband with a smooth touch before he kicked it in. The offensive side of Singapore was weak as they had already lost their most crucial forwards to cramps i.e. Faris Ramil and Shahril Ishak in the meantime.

The coach Svën Göran Eriksson was proud of the coordination and overall performance of the team and greatly appreciated the win saying that they had earned it for themselves. With this victory, the Philippines took over three points. Sato changed things in the Philippines as he brought the game to an offensive edge as if threatening Singapore. James Younghusband was substituted in for Mike Ott to enhance the midfield attacking more. The contribution to the defense of the match greatly goes to the Japanese defender Daisuke Sato.
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Sven Goran Eriksson Experiencing Big-Game Atmosphere with AFF Suzuki Cup

Philippines national team coach Sven Goran Eriksson says that the AFF Suzuki Cup has the same feeling of a World Cup. Philippines will be going into the tournament semi-final game against Vietnam with the first leg set to take place soon. Speaking ahead of this match, Eriksson says that the mood around the game is extremely similar to the bigger games found in tournaments like the European championships and the FIFA World Cup. He is of this opinion since the semi-final of the tournament is a crucial part.

The former England manager has great experience of the international tournaments after having been in charge of the England national team for several years. He has been unable to lift a major international trophy in his career but the experience amassed by the 70-year-old in various stages of his career happens to help quite a lot. The first leg of the AFF Suzuki Cup semi-final will be taking place at the Panaad Park and Stadium on December 2. This will be followed by the second leg. The experience of Eriksson can help Philippines achieve a positive result the national team has had a difficult time when it comes to the major tournaments but reaching the semifinals of theAFF Suzuki Cup is a significant boost to Philippines football.
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YOUNGHUSBAND: WE HAVE SEEN BIGGER MIRACLES

Philippines suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Vietnam in the semifinal first leg of the AFF Suzuki Cup 2018 and now have an uphill task when they visit the My Dinh Stadium in Hanoi for the return leg.

Veteran striker Nguyen Anh Duc put the Golden Dragons ahead at the Panaad Stadium in Bacolod before Patrick Reichelt pulled the home side level before half-time. But the parity was short-lived as Phan Van Duc scored three minutes into the second half to gift Vietnam the advantage of two away goals heading into the second leg.
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Philippines National Team Earn Draw with Oman

Philippines were able to get a hard-earned 1-1 draw with Oman in a recent friendly match. After having been regularly considered as the whipping boys, it was a major result for Philippines as a whole. The result can also have greater implications for the nation in the upcoming group stages of the AFC Champions Cup. Philippines have lost only once in the last five games across all competitions and they head into the opening game against Singapore in a positive frame of mind. Despite being one of the oldest football Association’s in Asia after being founded in 1907, Philippines have not been able to make much of an impact in the Asian football.

The popularity of other sports like basketball and boxing has resulted in football being downgraded to a lower level in terms of Philippine sports. This has directly affected the quality of the players who have been coming through the ranks. Since 2000s, however, there has been a significant change with overseas talent – who have Filipino lineage in their blood – being accepted into the national team. Players who were unable to feature for popular national teams have decided to opt for Philippines due to their lineage. Some of the popular names to have gone down this road are James Younghusband and Phil Younghusband – both players have been associated with the Chelsea youth system in the past.
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Philippine Azkals Had A Painful Draw Opposite Bahrain

The men’s football team of Philippine has now started its buildup process under Scott Cooper. He is the new coach of the team. The Philippine Azkals has a draw in the match which was played against familiar foe Bahrain. The draw was with the score 1-1, in a FIFA international friendly match that held on September 7. The match held in Riffa at the Bahrain National Stadium.

The score line was opened by Phil Younghusband doing damage in the 49th minute from the spot again for his 51st international goal for the Philippines. Then the momentum of the game shifted slightly when Carlos De Murga the defender went down in the 77th minute. This is the time when Bahrain had an opportunity in the 86th minute when Neil Etheridge, the goalkeeper went out of line, but scrabble with the save, however De Murga was right there and at the right spot to clear the header.
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SACKED JAPAN NT COACH TO TAKE JFA TO COURT

Sacked coach of the Japanese national team VahidHalilhodzic is seeking explanation for his shock exit, according to reports. Lawyers of the former coach say they are prepared for legal action against the Japanese football officials following his shock firing two months out from Russia 2018. The lawyers claim it was an “abusive” breach of contract.

The Franco-Bosnian tactician was fired in a similar manner by the Ivory Coast months before the 2010 World Cup. However, the coach revealed that in that case, the president of the country called him to explain the political angle that forced the decision. He said in the case of Japan, there were no issues but he was suddenly fired from the role where he was expected to lead the team to the World Cup after three years work. He added that it was “very difficult to accept” since there were no warnings or explanations for the action.
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Philippines soccer improving

There are signs that the level of football in the Philippines is improving. Indeed the national team has managed to win two games in the Southeast Asian (SEA) games.

This is the first time that the Philippines national team has won a match since 2011 and it is the first time in their history that they have managed to win two games in a single competition.

This is a major improvement over the last SEA games where the Philippines side suffered four defeats in four matches.

Although the wins have come against the weaker sides of the tournament, there are signs that the level of football in the Philippines is rising. And when you know that most of the players come from clubs playing in the domestic leagues you know that the Philippines soccer federation is doing something right.

Indeed the federation has invested in the development of glass root soccer, and this is definitely bringing dividends. The federation has created a number of competition for the youths and implemented different competition targeting different age groups. Continue reading Philippines soccer improving

PHILLIPINES AND VIETNAM TAKE SOCCER TO DISPUTED WATERS

The Philippine and Vietnamese navies got together to play soccer recently in the disputed South China Sea island, according to reports.

The navies of both sides have been playing various games on the island for a while but the latest was on Thursday when they met on Southwest Cay.

The Philippine side confirmed that it was the third event since 2014 between both sides on the island. The island in the Spratly Archipelago used to be held by the Philippines but the Vietnamese are in control now.

Both nations are concerned by the assertiveness of the Chinese authorities in the disputed region. They played soccer, volley ball, tug-of-war and other games as part of exchanges to demonstrate unity against the Super nation in the Far East. Continue reading PHILLIPINES AND VIETNAM TAKE SOCCER TO DISPUTED WATERS

Philippines kicked off their 2019 AFC Asian Cup in dominating form

The Philippines national football team has recently been suffering surprising and disappointing defeats and this is especially evident by their results during the 2016 AFF Championship where they lost against Thailand on November 25 of 2016 and sustained successive draws with Singapore and Indonesia in that same month.

After such an underwhelming string of results, the head coach of the Philippines national side Thomas Dooley has managed to bounce back and push his team to a remarkable 4-1 triumph over Nepal in their 1^st 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification match which was played on March 28.

This victory puts Philippines at the top of group F with 3 points secured from 1 match which is the same amount of points as Yemen but their goal difference is slightly worse. Continue reading Philippines kicked off their 2019 AFC Asian Cup in dominating form