Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 11) – Filipino German football hotshot Gerrit Holtmann debuted with the Philippine Azkals on a high note after scoring the breakthrough goal that helped them beat host country Mongolia, 1-0, in the final round of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers on Saturday at the MFF Football Centre in Ulaanbaatar.
The Azkals now lead Group B with four points and may retain their spot if Palestine loses to Yemen. Palestine has three points while Yemen, who played the Azkals to a goalless draw last Wednesday, holds a point.
The Filipinos and Mongolians seemed to finish with a scoreless stalemate after several heartbreaking goal attempt misses in the second half.
But in the final minute of the three-minute stoppage time, Holtmann received the ball off a corner kick by Manny Ott and strutted his first international goal for the Philippines just inches away from the penalty box line.
The 27-year-old winger playing for Bundesliga club VFL Bochum did not disappoint the Azkals in their crucial game against Mongolia, boosting their chances to earn a second straight Asian Cup berth.
Holtmann also shot several goals on target in the middle of the second half, but his strikes touched the net with the ball going outside the box.
Opportunity for the Azkals first came in the 75th minute when Mongolian defender Ganbold Bilguun fouled Azkals substitute midfielder OJ Porteria inside the box, which warranted a penalty kick for the Philippines. But Patrick Reichelt’s shot was deflected by Mongolia’s goalkeeper Enkhitaivan Munkh-Erdene.
Before the Holtmann goal, the Azkals also had a corner kick play in stoppage time orchestrated by Ott where Dylan De Bruycker was left wide open for the maiden strike. Munkh-Erdene denied the shot by De Bruycker.
The Philippines attempted 18 shots compared to Mongolia’s five. They also asserted holding the ball at 77% and displayed their superb passing skills at 348, against their opponents’ 97 total passes.
The win by the Azkals was also the first for veteran American mentor Thomas Dooley, since he was called up by the Philippine Football Federation to return as the head coach of the national team. He called the shots for the Philippines in the country’s AFC Asian Cup debut in 2019.
The Azkals are facing a must-win situation against Palestine to formally achieve their return trip to the Asian Cup in their last qualifiers game on Tuesday.
