By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter
THE PHILIPPINE national men’s football team created history last week when it barged into the AFC Asian Cup for the very first time.
Beating Tajikistan, 2-1, in their final Asian Cup Qualifiers group match, the Philippine Azkals assured themselves of a spot in the prestigious continental tournament by topping Group F with a record of three wins and three draws and 12 points, while at the same infusing life back to local football which of late had been thirsty for something to rally behind at.
The history-making win did not come easy for the Philippines as it had to stay calm and collected to come from behind and snatch the win after going a goal down early in the second half of the contest.
Stared at defeat when Tajikistan’s Nazarov Akhtam punched through a penalty kick in the 64th minute off a foul from Azkals’ Kevin Ingreso, the Philippines stayed the course and remained aggressive, which it was eventually rewarded for.
Mr. Ingreso made up for the goal of Tajikistan nine minutes later, heading an Iain Ramsay pass which sailed past the visiting side’s keeper Mahkamov Abduaziz to level the count and send the 4,000-plus fans at the Rizal Memorial Stadium grandstand to a frenzy.
While a draw was enough to see the Azkals through to the AFC Asian Cup, for good measure they added another goal as regulation time expired care of skipper Phil Younghusband off a penalty.
The goal was the 50th in the international career of the longtime Azkals player, which made it all the more significant.
“We made history today for Philippine football. Everyone gave their all. We are thankful for all the support that we got. I can’t describe my feelings right now. We were crying on the pitch. I think it will take a few weeks before it really sinks in what we have accomplished. I think we deserved it. We really fought hard out there,” said Mr. Ingreso, named man of the match, after their victory.
“We were still positive despite being down 0-1. We just kept pushing forward. We knew we had our chances and we did it. This is an achievement for the all Filipinos all over the world,” the 25-year-old midfielder added.
BEST TEAM IN YEARS
For the Azkals’ American coach Thomas Dooley, the team that vied for the Asian Cup spot was the best one yet during his tenure, and that he was not surprised that they were able to accomplish their mission because everybody was on the same page.
“In four years that I am here this is the best team that we have. The energy, the spirit in training was unbelievable. Everyone was positive. I did not see any one player who was in a bad mood. Everyone was laughing and energized. It was unbelievable. Everybody is helping each other and I told them if that is how they will prepare for every game you cannot lose,” the coach, whose angling for a fresh contract after his two-year deal expired at the weekend, said.
“That is what a team is all about. Everybody has to work. This is amazing. You just have to stay positive. We just followed what we had to do,” added Mr. Dooley even as emphasized the need for the team to continue spending more time together as a group to better prepare and improve.
Apart from Messrs. Ingreso, Ramsay and Younghusband, also part of the AFC Asian Cup-winning Azkals team were goalkeeper Neil Etheridge, defenders Simone Rota, Carlos De Murga, Daisuke Sato and Dennis Villanueva, forward Mike Ott, and midfielders Manny Ott and Misagh Bahadoran.
Part of the team as well were Junior Muñoz, Jhanjhan Melliza, Jeffrey Christiaens, Nick O’Donnell, Patrick Deyto, Patrick Reichelt, Pika Minegishi, Sean Patrick Kane, Javier Patino, Dylan De Bruycker, Paul Mulders and James Younghusband.
The AFC Asian Cup happens in 2019 from Jan. 5 to Feb. 1 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The Philippines is part of the field that also has host UAE, Qatar, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Uzbekistan, Iran, Syria, Iraq, China, Palestine, Oman, India, Lebanon, Turkmenistan, Jordan, Bahrain, Vietnam, Kyrgyzstan, North Korea and Yemen.
As per tournament format, the 24 teams will be drawn into six groups of four teams each. The teams in each group play a single round robin. After the group stage, the top two teams and the four best third teams will advance to the round of 16. The winners will advance to the quarterfinals. The quarterfinal winners will advance to the semifinals. The semifinal winners will play in final.
Draw for the AFC Asian Cup is set for May 4.
