Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — Before the first two FIFA World Cup Qualifying matches of the Philippine Azkals, all everyone talked about were the big names of the team or the new faces who joined them.
Not a lot of people would’ve predicted that after the game that it would be Azkals veteran Misagh Bahadoran who would steal the spotlight after chipping in goals against both Bahrain and Yemen.
In the past, the Global FC player has been utilized on the wing for both club and country, but this year he has been used at a more forward role. Bahadoran has since made the role his own and has been identified as a legitimate goal scoring threat by the opposition.
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“The expectation (of me) is high. The pressure is there. It’s harder being in that position now,” Bahadoran said in an interview after club training at the McKinley Hill Stadium in Taguig.
With the next set of World Cup Qualifiers fast approaching, the Filipino-Iranian knows that he needs to do more to continue his good run of form.
“I have to be prepared, physically and mentally,” he said. “I have to be disciplined.”
The Azkals will face Uzbekistan at the Philippine Sports Stadium on September 8, before visiting Pyongyang to face North Korea on October 8.
The Philippines are currently second place in Group H in the World Cup Qualifiers, only trailing North Korea by virtue of goal difference.
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