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Underdog Azkals step into uncharted football history in Kuwait


When the men's national football team steps on the pitch of the Qadsya Stadium early evening in Kuwait (Sunday in Manila), they also venture into uncharted territory. For the first time in football history, the Philippines will be in a Round 2 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers match. Clearly the underdogs, the Azkals, as the Philippine contingent is popularly known, have the odds stacked against them. They are ranked 159th while their next foes are 57 places up the ladder (102), according to the June 2011 FIFA rankings. In Asia, Kuwait is 11th while the Philippines is 29th. The Kuwait national team, the Al-Azraq, are seeded in the 2014 qualifiers, exempted from having to go through Round 1, where the 16 lowest-ranked countries had to get bruised first before they advance to the second round. Round 1 casualties Azkals casualties of the first round were team captain Aly Borromeo and tenacious midfielder Stephan Schrock who each earned two yellow cards or cautions, leading to their automatic one-game suspension. The Philippine Football Federation (PFF) appealed their case to the Asian Football Confederation and the Federation Internationale de Football Assocation (FIFA), hoping to get their suspension rescinded. But hours before the Azkals meet Al Azraq, AFC broke the decision from FIFA that Borromeo and Schrock's suspensions will stand. Striker Phil Younghusband and forward Angel Guirado sustained injuries in Round 1 and got sidelined for a number of days in the Azkals' training prior to Round 2. Younghusband's hamstring and Guirado's knees needed time to heal before the next battle. Both got some minutes of playing time last July 18 in the second leg of the First Bahrain-Philippines Friendship Games. They were up and about in the training sessions in Kuwait. Kuwait's scoring threats While the Azkals trained in Manila and Bahrain in the weeks before Round 2, Kuwait was also busy training and playing in tournaments. Al-Azraq emerged as the champions of the Four Nations International Football Tournament which Jordan hosted. Kuwait outclassed Saudi Arabia and Iraq in their matches in Amman. Kuwait's forward Bader Al Mutawa scored the goal against Saudi Arabia. Since his 2003 debut in the Asian Cup Qualifers, Al-Mutawa has made 36 goals. He was runner-up for Asian Player of the Year in 2006. Fahad Awad and Hussain Fadhel made one goal each in the match against Iraq at the four-nations in Jordan. The Al-Azraq also had a friendly with Oman last July 6 as preparation for the Round 2 encounters with the Azkals. That match was a draw, with Yousef Al-Salman scoring Kuwait's goal. Yousef Al-Salman also had a goal in the 2012 Olympics Qualifiers against Japan on June 23. In that game, midfielder Hamad Aman shot the other goal. Just days before, also against Japan, it was Jaber Al-Mutairi who got goal. Kuwait emerged as champion in another four-nation tournament, this one hosted by the United Arab Emirates last March. In that competition, Hamad Al-Enezi and Hussain Al-Moussawi each shot one goal for Al-Azraq. Hamad Al-Enezi also plays in Europe, for NK Jedinstvo, which made it to third in the second division First League of Bosnia. Kuwait's other scoring threats are Musaad Nada, Nasser Shaqqath, Ali Hamad, and Fahad Alansari. Kuwait has a young team. Their oldest, most experienced is Waleed Ali at 30 years old. Azkals' strategies Coach Michael Weiss wished he had many months to prepare for Kuwait, but with the flurry of matches since he took the reins six months ago, he makes do with what comes his way. "We are Azkals. We are used to difficult situations," Weiss said on July 3 when Borromeo and Schrock each got the second of their two yellow cards. Days later, Weiss made up his mind on some of the adjustments he will make for the first encounter with Kuwait. "We will change the central defense and try not to concede a goal in the first match," Weiss said. During practice sessions at the Rizal Stadium in Manila, Weiss said the Azkals may have some chances to slip a goal or two or more past Kuwai'’s goalkeeper, but the defense and the aggressiveness of the Al-Azraq are top concerns. "Kuwait are good at attacking and recently they thrashed Lebanon 6-0 in a friendly so we must stay compact and keep the back-line tight. If we can come away with a goalless draw, then things will be different when we play as hosts five days later," Weiss said in a recent article on the FIFA website. As part of their preparations for Kuwait, the Azkals reviewed video recordings of the Al Azraq's previous matches. GMA News' Mark Zamrano updated viewers of Saksi on the national team's game plan for the next game.
For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV The next home game of the Azkals will be on July 28, Thursday at the Rizal Stadium. - JVP, GMA News

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