Azkals meet Hong Kong in FIFA friendly

MANILA, Philippines — Two years after a 3-all result in the Long Teng Cup, the Philippines and Hong Kong take on each other in a FIFA friendly to gauge how far they have been in the Asian stage, but given national pride at stake, expect this match to be not-so-friendly.

The Azkals, riding high on their recent performances including an unbeaten Challenge Cup Qualifiers run in Manila, are slight favorites entering Tuesday’s match.

Capitalizing on the league break in Europe, they will be parading familiar names such as Fulham goalie Neil Etheridge, TSG Hoffenheim’s Stephan Schrock, and ADO Den Haag’s Paul Mulders to join the Philippine-based players in Phil and James Younghusband, Chieffy Caligdong, and a bunch of Azkals regulars in the past year.

Hong Kong, however, will not come as easy picking for the visitors as they have dominated the Philippines in the past, winning 7 out of their 8 games and drawing them in 2011 en route to their second Long Teng Cup title in Taiwan.

Prestige vs. pedigree

Hong Kong, although ranked a bit lower at 151st compared to the Azkals’ 144th in the FIFA rankings, has proven to be a dangerous squad in this side of the continent. They are also no strangers in the top tier in Asia with three appearances in the Asian Cup, including a third place finish in 1956.

In 2013, like the Philippines, Hong Kong has been unbeaten in international matches, holding 66th ranked Uzbekistan to a scoreless draw then just nipping Southeast Asian powerhouse Vietnam, 1-0 in the Asian Cup Qualification.

The East Asian state will be banking heavily on their locally-based players with 16 of them comprising the 20-man squad to face the Philippines but Chan Siu Ki of Chinese second-tier team Guangdong Sunray Cave remains the dangerman for Hong Kong with 34 goals to his name in 46 caps.

Although the game is not played on paper, the Philippines on the other hand looks tough with the kind of team they were able to build in the past couple of years.

Between the sticks will be Fulham third-string keeper Neil Etheridge, who has been an imposing figure in the Philippines’ defense for several years already. The Azkals are also teeming with high-caliber midfielders in Jason de Jong, James Younghusband, hometown hero Caligdong, and Filipino-German Schrock who plays in the Bundesliga, among others.

Up front will be Phil Younghusband, Mulders, and Javier Patino’s territory, although reports have circulated that the Fil-Spanish striker will not be released by his Thai club Buriram United due to fatigue. “Pati-goal,” as he is fondly called by Buriram fans, is currently one of the leading scorers in the Thai top flight since he left Spanish second division club Cordoba earlier this year.

But the Azkals have their back four as their Kryptonite as there are only two natural defenders in the final lineup for Tuesday’s match: Juani Guirado and Rob Gier, both more than 30 years old. With no Aly Borromeo (still recuperating from a knee injury) and Jason Sabio (finishing studies abroad) in the lineup to relieve them, pundits are saying that the Philippines should now be looking within its shores for young and talented defenders.

In the upcoming game, however, Global FC’s Carli de Murga will be back on the right flank while teammate Jeffrey Christiaens is expected to take the other wingback role in the absence of Dennis Cagara.

Payback time

In the first match of the 2011 Long Teng Cup, Hong Kong scored two quick goals against the Philippines to start their hunt for their second title. Phil Younghusband, though, spoiled the party with a penalty in the 31st minute while Caligdong restored parity just before halftime.

The Barotac-Nuevo native then found the net for a brace to go ahead 3-2 in what could be the closest they could get to beating Hong Kong for the first time ever.

It was a brief but glorious moment for the Azkals as they looked poised to get the full three points in their first game in the short tournament. But just as the clock was running out, Hong Kong equalized through an Au Yeung Yiu Chung 86th minute goal.

The game ended 3-3 and Hong Kong went on to win the tournament.

It was an even game between a team of prestige and a team that was once the beating boys in the region. A year after, when the Long Teng Cup was renamed Philippine Football Peace Cup, the Azkals won the tournament. But Hong Kong was not there.

Hong Kong is currently preparing for the Asian Cup Qualifiers while the Philippines are building up its training for next year’s Challenge Cup in Maldives.

Tonight, in a long-overdue grudge match, Hong Kong and the Philippines will be slugging it out once again, with both squads wanting to set the record straight. It will be a gauge of where the teams are after two years. It’s surely going to be payback time, but for whom? – Rappler.com