Philippines and Thailand ready for thriller in Manila Super Typhoon Hagupit is forecast to hit the Philippines within the next 48 hours but before that the nation’s football team is looking to storm to victory against Thailand in Manila in the first semi-final of the AFF Suzuki Cup on Saturday. The eagerly anticipated match between tournament favourites Thailand and highly rated Philippines kicks off at 8pm at the Rizal Memorial Stadium. The second leg is next Wednesday in Bangkok. History is brutally against the Azkals as they have lost to Thailand in every one of their last 14 games stretching back to 1972. Thailand also triumphed in all three of their Group B games in Singapore to cement their position as hot favourites while Philippines won two and lost one match in Group A. However, Philippines are playing in their third successive semi-final and with a strong squad assembled by coach Thomas Dooley, they are confident of reaching their first final. “These are the kind of big games we want to play,” said Dooley, former captain of the US national team. “The players are confident ahead of the game as there has been something in the air for years that we have to correct. I can promise that every man on the field will do their best to correct that.” Six of their past matches were in this championship and Thailand’s current coach Kiatisuk “Zico” Senamuang, who won the title three times as a player, scored in the 1996 and 2000 encounters. But the Philippines have their own version of “Zico” in the form of inspirational striker Phil Younghusband. The number 10 has scored twice in the tournament to bring his international goal tally to 42. He said: “We are all very excited about the game and it is good to be back in the semis. But for us players and everything that has gone on the last four years and the growth of Philippine football we are still missing a big title. For us the players the motivation is high.” The former Chelsea reserve player is one of several players with overseas experience who have contributed to the success of football in the archipelago. “It is never enough to be in the semi, we want to go a step further. Even two steps further and win the competition. If you want to win you have to beat the best teams in the tournament and the best teams in South-East Asia,” added Younghusband. Thailand beat the Philippines 3-0 in a warm-up match for the AFF Suzuki Cup in Korat last month but are conscious that tomorrow’s game on the Philippines’ home patch will be a different affair. “We are confident but must be careful,” said their assistant coach Choktawee Promrat. “We hope that this game is very strong for us as the Philippines have many good players. We have been working very hard in training. All our players must concentrate. When we played them in Korat we were very surprised as the Philippines have changed their players and they were very good.” They also beat Philippines 2-1 in the group stages of the AFF Suzuki Cup in 2012 and are a young team with the majority of the players having played for the Thailand under-23s in last year’s SEA Games which they won and the recent Asian Games in Korea where they reached the semi-finals. “I am confident as are all my team-mates. We all want to win tomorrow,” said Adisak Kraisorn, their impact player with two goals to his credit in the tournament so far. Thailand have won the AFF Suzuki Cup three times. The last time was in 2002 and they lost the 2012 final to Singapore 3-2 on aggregate.
Posted on: Fri, 05 Dec 2014 14:35:02 +0000
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