PH Football Peace Cup Preview

THE Philippine Azkals will make its final preparations for the AFF Suzuki Cup by hosting the first ever Philippine Football Peace Cup starting today against the low-ranked Guam. However, a twist occurred when the management decided to sit out brothers Phil and James Younghusband.

The organization wanted more commitment from players and it is unfortunate that this will occur with three crucial matches on schedule. With this development, what are the chances of the Azkals on this three-nation event?

PHIL AND JAMES OUT, NO PROBLEM. The Philippine Azkals have been through numerous adversities and they managed to overcome every one of them. The latest line up we have is the strongest in years and this is the time for reserves to step up once again. The three teams we are going to face are not high ranked teams and coach Hans Michael Weiss will tinker his team to fill the void left by the Younghusbands.

Who will he play as a striker in place of Phil? Will it be Dennis Wolf? How about the replacement for James in the midfield? This is a high time for the players to make a name for themselves and anyone inserted in the line up will definitely not disappoint the Azkal fans.

CROWD SUPPORT. Football fans will definitely troop to the Rizal Memorial Stadium to give all out support for our team. We will take Guam tomorrow, Macau on Thursday and Chinese Taipei on Saturday. Guam (rank 185) and Macau (rank 200) are lightweights and definitely the Azkals will demolish these teams.

The only thing that worries me is Chinese Taipei currently ranked 176 in FIFA standings. Chinese Taipei may pull off some surprise if coach Weiss is not wary. However, the Azkals (rank 150) will deter any resistance and we expect 100% performance from the team and we are here to watch the Azkals lift the championship trophy of the Philippine Football Peace Cup on Saturday evening.

BREAKOUT. Three victories in this tournament will make an account for the Azkals and hopefully it will lift our FIFA ranking better in the next release. There’s no other way for the team but to win! Coach Weiss definitely understands what’s at stake here and definitely we are going in a positive direction comes the AFF Suzuki Cup.

Morale of players should be high and believing that the program is on the right track. It’s the reason why I support the decision of the team to exclude players who are not in the same mindset with the organization.

A sacrifice must be done by the players and dedication to the national team is paramount. When the nation’s pride is at stake individual schedule must take the sidelines.(Jun-Jun Carballo)