Short on manpower, the Philippine Azkals national men’s football team will do what it takes when it faces host Singapore on Wednesday at the Kallang National Stadium pitch.
Acting coach Stewart Hall said this a day before the start of the Azkals’ campaign in the Group A matches of the 2021 ASEAN Football Federation-Suzuki Cup.
With three main players still unavailable because of club commitments, the Azkals will tackle a Singaporean side which already gained momentum from its 3-0 win over Myanmar in one of Sunday’s two opening games.
The Azkals will play without Jefferson Tabinas, Jesper Niholm, and Iain Ramsay, who won’t be released by their club teams in Japan, Sweden and in Thailand respectively in time for their first game.
But Hall is upbeat that the Azkals can pull off their first win since the Singaporeans still have no idea how the PH plays.
Since they saw how Singapore beat Myanmar, the Azkals were able to prepare well against the Tatsuda Yoshida-mentored squad.
“We watched the game quite a few times. They got the momentum of the whole nation, and the crowd support. I think that was a big thing,” said Hall in pre-match press conference online.
Hall added the team will be able to adjust to the highs and lows of Singapore’s tactics after reviewing how they dealt with Myanmar.
“Two of Singapore’s goal came from counterattacks. It’s something we looked at,” said Hall.
Singapore now leads the Group A standings with Thailand, which opened its campaign with a 2-0 triumph over Timor-Leste.
The team will count on the leadership of Amani Aguinaldo, a 26-year-old, whose experience both in domestic and overseas competitions can help the Azkals pull through.