Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — To be run ragged by a team ranked 49 spots ahead of them in the World Rankings is something the Philippine Azkals should not dwell too much upon.
After a humbling 5-1 loss to Uzbekistan on Tuesday (September 8) in their FIFA World Cup Qualifying fixture, Azkals coach Thomas Dooley said that they need such games to find out what they have done wrong and move forward from there.
The Azkals were hit hard early on when Uzbekistan’s Odil Akhmedov snuck in a shot under keeper Neil Etheridge just 45 seconds into the match.
“From the first kick, we started on the wrong direction,” said Dooley. “After the first goal, the first minute, everything we tried to do was gone,”
The American coach added that it is not easy to set aside what had happened and continue to play after the first-minute shock.
Despite the huge defeat, Dooley didn’t cast blame on anyone from the team, electing to commend his players for not giving up.
However, Etheridge took responsibility, saying the first goal of the Uzbeks was an individual mistake on his behalf, but explained that those were lapses during games that sometimes do happen.
Etheridge promised to stay mentally strong and keep looking forward to their next games.
Azkals striker-cum-midfielder Phil Younghusband is still confident that they can still qualify for the next round of the competition.
“We still have games to play. We know that if we can hold these teams, keep them from scoring, and then we’ll have a chance in the upcoming games,” Younghusband said.
The Philippine Azkals will continue their bid to book a ticket to Russia for the 2018 FIFA World Cup against North Korea on October 8 in Pyongyang.
CNN Philippines’ Paolo del Rosario contributed to this report.
