Pinoy booters seek revenge
Game today: (Rizal Memorial Football Stadium) 7 p.m. Philippines vs Iraq
Gaining revenge will be the ultimate goal when the Philippine national football squad clashes with Iraq in the second round of the 2024 FIFA World Cup qualifiers on Tuesday at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium in Manila.
Kick off is set at 7 p.m. with the Filipinos looking to beat the Lions of Mesopotamia at home to gain ranking points and secure the equalizer in their two-game duel of this prestigious event that stakes spots in the World Cup that will be co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada in 2026.
The Iraqis, behind the heroics of 23-yearold Mohanad Ali, drew the first blood as they posted a 1-0 win over the Filipinos last Friday at the Basra International Stadium in Iraq.
Philippines head coach Tom Saintfiet said they want to tweak the strategies that they implemented against Iraq, hoping to somehow force a draw in front of Filipino fans.
Currently, Iraq is at the top of Group F with nine points built on three wins while the Philippines is at fourth place with a 0-1-2 win-draw-loss record.
“That’s the problem with Iraq, you can’t just focus on one player, there’s always another one there. So, we need to be 100 percent focused,” Saintfiet said during their open training over the weekend.
“Iraq had problems against us. If you have seen them play in previous matches, they overlap on the wings. If they get blocked on the wings, they can’t play their vertical ball through the center where they usually score.”
Iraq coach Jesus Casas Garcia said beating the Filipinos at home will not be easy.
“It was very hard for us to score one goal,” he said during the pre-match news conference on Monday.
“We’re hoping to implement the same game plan against the Philippines but they will be playing at home. Maybe they will be more dangerous in attacking.”
A draw or a win at home could give the Philippines a much-needed boost as its next two games in the World Cup qualifiers will be played on the road.
Veteran goalkeeper Neil Etheridge of Birmingham City FC is again expected to lead the Filipinos along with Daisuke Sato of Davao Aguilas UMak FC, Santi Rublico of Atletico Madrid under-19 Mike Ott of Barito Putera and Jarvey Gayoso of Kaya FC-Iloilo.
Etheridge, who played for the national team since 2008, believes that team will get that much-needed push with the home crowd backing them up.
“We need as many supporters as we can. We understand the situation with it being Holy Week but we appreciate those who will come and support us,” Etheridge said.
“We feel we did our best in Basra but unfortunately, we weren’t able to get the result we wanted. We’re trying to replicate that performance with a bit more on Tuesday.”