By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter
AFTER missing out on the semifinals of the AFF Suzuki Cup two years ago, the Philippine men’s national football team is back in the championship round of the biennial regional tournament.
Hacking out a 0-0 draw against Indonesia in away match in Jakarta on the final group play date on Sunday, the Philippine Azkals (2-2-0) assured themselves of a top-two finish in Group B, sending them to the next round.
They join defending champion Thailand from their grouping and will be facing Group A winner Vietnam in the crossover semifinals beginning on Dec. 2. Malaysia, the runner-up team in Group A, is the other semifinal cast and will take on the Thais.
While happy to have brought back the Azkals to the semifinals of the Suzuki Cup, coach Sven-Goran Eriksson admitted that they are still far from being brilliant consistently and have to shape up some more heading into the semifinals.
Nonetheless, he mentioned the fact that they have yet to drop a game in this edition of the Suzuki Cup means they are on the right track and highlights the potential of the team.
“We’re in the semifinals and we haven’t lost one game and we should be happy. In the semifinals we have to play better than we did today. But I’m sure we will,” said Mr. Eriksson in the postgame interview following their win over Indonesia.
“We have a week to prepare till our next game. These four games were played in three to four days. So having a week to prepare will help,” he added.
In the game against Indonesia, the two teams started the match aggressively, putting themselves in solid scoring opportunities in the opening half but could not complete them.
Unfortunately, too, for the Azkals they would lose captain Phil Younghusband in the first half after clashing heads with an Indonesian player.
He was taken off the field then brought to the hospital after.
In the second half, the back-and-forth between the two teams continued.
But like in the opening 45 minutes no goals would be scored en route to the nil-nil draw.
Incidentally, the Philippines’ cause was helped by the 3-0 defeat of third-running Singapore at the hands of Group B leader Thailand, played near simultaneously as that between the Azkals and Indonesia.
Against Vietnam in the semifinals, the Azkals will face a team that has been solid in the tournament so far with a record of three wins and a draw in group play to top its grouping.
Back in the Suzuki Cup in 2016, the Philippines, which was a co-host then, failed to go beyond the group stage, halting a streak of three appearances in the semifinals of the biennial tournament dating back to 2010.
The first leg of the semifinals between the Azkals and Vietnam is on Dec. 2 at the Panaad Park and Football Stadium in Bacolod City with the second leg to be played on Dec. 6 in Hanoi.

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