(National Stadium, Male)
6:30 p.m. – Afghanistan vs Palestine
12 midnight – Philippines vs Maldives
With an opportunity to play in the AFC Asian Cup in Sydney next year as the ultimate reward, the Philippine Azkals are expected to go all-out when they play host Maldives in the semifinals of the AFC Challenge Cup today at the National Stadium in Male.
Though only the champion team will be going to Sydney, the Azkals are determined to put up a performance much stronger and fascinating than the one they dished out when they blanked Turkmenistan, 2-0, last Saturday.
Aside from the challenge of conjuring that magic, the Azkals also have also to survive the partisan atmosphere that is expected in their 9 p.m. encounter (12 midnight Philippine time).
The winner will face either Palestine or Afghanistan in a one-game title duel on Friday, while the loser is going to be relegated in a consolation game for third place a day earlier.
A big crowd is set to rally behind the Maldivian side which made the semis after finishing second behind Palestine in Group A.
Maldives entered the Final Four despite losing 2-0 to Myanmar in the opener. The Red Snappers bounced back with a 2-0 victory over Kyrgyzstan before settling for a goalless tie with Palestine.
“Facing Maldives is a cause of concern,” said team manager Dan Palami. “They have the advantage because of the home crowd but they lost one of their games here so it’s not impossible to beat them.”
The Azkals, on the other hand, went unbeaten in Group B.
After a scoreless tie with Afghanistan, they pulled off consecutive 2-0 victories over Laos and Turkmenistan.
Against the Turkmen, the Azkals rode on the heroics of goalkeeper Roland Muller and the stellar performance of Phil Younghusband and Patrick Reichelt to clinch a semis berth for the second straight time.
But this time, the Filipino booters are primed to produce a different result than in 2012 in Nepal. In that edition, they lost to Turkmenistan in the semis.
“I know what the team can do. Our focus is on winning the Challenge Cup,” said coach Thomas Dooley, whose team has dealt with injuries to first-choice goalie Neil Etheridge and central defender Juani Guirado.
source: www.mb.com.ph
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