The Philippines put up a gallant showing in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
Philippine Azkals coach Michael Weiss was pleased with the team’s performance in their 2-0 loss to Vietnam in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers at the Rizal Memorial Stadium on Thursday.
Weiss said the cohesion isn’t quite there for the Azkals but he liked what he saw from his wards, who turned it up in the second half and had a lot of opportunities to score an equalizer, including Stephan Shrock’s free kick late in the game.
“I can only say it was a great performance for the team overall. Vietnam is not (the best team in Southeast Asia) for nothing. Even with the young players, you can there’s a cohesion, which we don't have yet,” he said after the match witnessed by 10,378 screaming fans.
After Nguyen Van Toan put the visitors ahead, 1-0, with his strike in the 16th minute, they refused to ease on the gas pedal.
The Azkals were able to match the aggression on both ends, which gave them many good looks after the break. Unfortunately for them, it didn’t result in a goal.
As the Filipino booters were scrambling to nail the equalizer in the final moments, Nguyen Dinh Bac found the perfect opportunity from the left flank to score the goal which sealed the deal for Vietnam, ranked 94th in the world.
But for Weiss, the fact that they went toe-to-toe against their regional rival is an early shot in the arm for the Azkals in Group F.
“A loss is a normal thing but we can go out with our heads held high,” he said.
The German coach added that they are taking the loss in stride as they prepare for another tough match against Indonesia on Tuesday.
“We have to get our powers back,” Weiss said. “We’re gonna go out with full power against Indonesia.”
(PM)