AZKALS VS MALDIVES

2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifier: 2015 AFC Asian Qualifier

Azkals Friendly Was A Prep For World Cup

Azkals has proven to Maldives by the 2-nil win that whether it’s homecourt or visitor, they will and always will dominate the ground.

A friendly match between the Philippine national men’s football team Azkals and the Maldives national football team was held at the Rizal Memorial Stadium last Thursday, September 3, 2015.

The Azkals are gearing up for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualification for the Asian section (Asian Football Confederation or AFC) against Uzbekistan tomorrow, September 8, 8:00PM at the Philippine Sports Stadium in Bocaue, Bulacan.

This is the second time Azkals and Maldives faced each other as they fought over the semis of the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup in Male, which the Azkals had a victorious win of 3–2 . Meanwhile, Maldives will face China in Beijing for their qualifying match for the 2015 AFC.

Words from Azkals coach Thomas Dooley explained that the team’s friendly matches will be considered as “not friendly” anymore. “For us, it’s a very important game. We’re obviously trying to prepare for the game against Uzbekistan and I’ve told the players that we don’t have friendly games anymore – we take every game seriously, we want to win every game.”

As reported from other media sources, here is a blow-by-blow account of the Azkals-Maldives action that transpired last Thursday:

The first half action saw the Azkals, who are preparing for their World Cup qualifier against Uzbekistan next week, hard at work in trying to slice open the Maldives' defense.
The Maldivians fended off four shots from the Azkals, including near goals from Misagh Bahadoran and Patrick Reichelt.

Phil Younghuband later secured a free kick which went on target, but it was deflected by Maldives keeper.

In the second half, the Azkals were able to get a corner, one that sent the ball to the center of the box. Maldivian Mohammed Samdhooh tried to deflect the ball to the opposite direction but instead sent it into their own goal.

This enabled the Philippines to secure a 1-0 lead in the 48th minute.

Seven minutes later, Stephan Schrock sent the ball to the middle of the box and a team mate passed it toward Jerry Lucena. The Danish-Filipino was in perfect position for a header and score the second goal for the Philippines.


It was his second international goal, and his second also against the same team. (The Philippine Star, ABS-CBN News.com)