“We are No. 1 in Southeast Asia and that means we are under pressure, and that is good,” Dooley said during yesterday’s Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum at Shakey’s Malate branch.
“But we have to prove it.”
To prove their growing reputation in the Asian region, the Azkals will have to hurdle visiting teams Taiwan, Myanmar and Palestine for the third edition of the Peace Cup which starts on Sept. 3 at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.
The Azkals are seeking their third straight trophy but will face a more difficult challenge compared to the previous two Peace Cup editions.
Taiwan will make its third straight Peace Cup appearance, Myanmar will be handled by former Singapore coach Raddy Avramovic, while Palestine is the same team that beat the Azkals 1-0 in the Asian Football Confederation Challenge Cup final last May in Maldives.
Dooley’s Azkals are ranked as the best team in Southeast Asia at No. 128 according to the latest FIFA rankings, but the former United States international said it will mean nothing if they end up losing the tourney.
“When we play against Taiwan, there’s no reason for us not to win, we are under pressure and we must show to the people that we are better,” said Dooley. “Same as Myanmar, they maybe a better team, a stronger team but again if you want to be No. 1 in Southeast Asia we have to beat that team. But the mindset has to be there, same way as the coaches.”
“Palestine will be a little bit more difficult, they are ranked at No. 95 or No. 97 in the world. We lost against them (in the Challenge Cup final) and we want to beat them. Hopefully we can get Palestine off the wrong foot and beat them.”
Taiwan will be the Azkals’ first opponent for the Peace Cup, followed by Myanmar on Sept. 6. The hosts close out the tourney against Palestine on Sept. 9.
Source:mb.com.ph
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