Philippine Azkals vs Kuwait Al-Azraq (1-5)

The crowd at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium is shaken and overwhelmed with so much joy when Stephan Schrock scored the first goal for the Philippines in the 45'.Angel Locsin is caught cheering with the  pinoys along with Dimple Romana.The hope for 2014 FIFA World Cup is alive until the match ends with an aggregate score of 5-1.The goal keeper of both teams are challenged because they gave us an entertaining and action game!Celebrities like Piolo Pascual, Michael de Mesa, Jon Avila, Jericho Rosales and some politicians were seen in the event.

Play updates:

• Chieffy Caligdong has free kick in the 8'
• A yellow card is given to Angel Guirado in the 14'
• Angel Guirado has good attempt in the 22' but was successfully defended
• Schrock gets a yellow card in the 24'
• Unsuccessful goal attempt by Kuwait when it hit the post in the 33'
• Philippines is trying more attempts in the 38-39'
• Kuwait attacks but Nel Etheridge was good enough to throw the ball away in 44'
• Great Ibrahim gets a yellow card in 59'
• Goal by Youssaf Naser in the 60'
• Free kick for Kuwait in the 66'
• Yellow card for Anton del Rosario in the 71'
• Starts to drizzle in the 74'
• Penalty kick for Kuwait in 76'
• Guirado's out in the field in the 79'
• Another unsucceful attempt by Kuwait in the 81'
• Second goal for Kuwait in the 84' when Neil Etheridge, Azkals goal keeper left the goal unguarded to save the ball closer
• Neil Etheridge is doing great until the 89' because Kuwait is still hungry for more goals before the match ends

Angel Guirado and Phil Younghusband did unsuccessful attempts.However, I believe the Azkals has given their best to fight against a tough team. Their journey in making it to 2014 FIFA World Cup is excellent.Beating Bangladesh, Mongolia and Sri Lanka to qualify for the second round is an achievement.Perhaps, it's not our time to shine yet.Furthermore, Philippine Azkals has renewed Filipinos' love for football!

Congratulations Kuwait Al-Azraq! The team  advances to the third round while the Azkals will have to do more practice by having invitational football matches with other countries to keep our dream alive.

Kuwait vs Philippines 2nd Leg

It's disappointing to hear when the goalkeeper of Philippine Azkals Neil Etheridge was bothered by laser lights while playing their first leg match in Qadsia Stadium, Kuwait.I don't think a Filipino would do that among the crowd.It's undeniable that the Kuwaitis have proper coordination and communication in the field compared to our footballers but this kind of revelation annoys every Filipino who supports Azkals.FIFA promotes friendship, respect and equality among nations and I hope that this incident is given attention.

Tomorrow the Filipinos will wear white tees at Rizal Stadium to show our solid support for the Philippine football team.It's our way of encouraging them to continue to believe that we might win this match. Seeing how the first match goes I would say that Azkals needs miracle. The Kuwaitis are well-coordinated.They move fast and it was hard to make a goal!

I'm expecting an entertaining fight and better performance tomorrow despite the presence of pouring rain because Aly Borromeo and Stephan Schrock are back in the game!The kick off will start at 7pm and the live telecast will start at 5pm on Studio 23.Go beat Kuwait!

Philippine Azkals Wins Against Sri Lanka Red Braves

Emilio "Chieffy" Caligdong scored the first goal for Philippine Azkals at the official time of 19 minutes during the first half.Angel Locsin was clapping her hands when Phil Younghusband made the second  goal at the 43rd minute of the game and did another one in a penalty kick .The rain is pouring at Rizal Memorial Football Stadium when the game started.Stephan Schrock got a yellow card and he's not going to play for the first game against Kuwait.So will Ally Borromeo.

 

In the 50th minute, Angel Guirado scored the third goal! It is obvious that Philippines dominates the game.Chieffy Caligdong is injured  in the 70th minute but is able to go back to the field and play again.

Congratulations Philippine Azkals!The aggregate score between Philippine Azkals and Sri Lanka Red Braves is 5-1. The team gives us a satisfying performance today.The dream to play in the world cup continues to live on! More power and job well done Filipinos! Don't stop believing Azkals! Aim for the 2014 FIFA World Cup!

Azkals Wins Againts Bangladesh

Congratulations to Philippine football team Azkals for winning the match against Bangladesh with the score of 3-0. The 2012 AFC Challenge Cup Qualifier game took place in Myanmar where an earthquake of 5.0 magnitude was reported. The team is fine and was not affected by the said earthquake.

Philippine Azkals Football Team

Azkal is a modernized Filipino word which is the short form for "asong kalye" that means a street dog in English.This is the official name of the Philippine Football team. At first I was intrigued to know why the media had chosen such name for a soccer  team that would represent my country.Perhaps the description of a mutt or stray dog fits the novice team and its members compared to well-liked British and German teams. People around the world are aware that Philippines is not on top when it comes to football ranking worldwide.  A dog, although has no pet owner and the breed is not as high with the upper class survives and manages to fight for its life...just like the Philippines and the soccer team.Azkal with the "z" and not with the "s" sounded like there's foreign blood in the team. John Patrick Hinrichsen, James and Phil Younghusband are all half Filipinos who learned football in England, Germany and in the USA.  I don't know how my fellows see it but this is how I interpret it.

Yesterday, Philippine Azkals won against Mongolia with 2-0 score held at Panaad Stadium in Bacolod City in the Visayas Region.There were about 20, 000 people filled the football arena.PFF gave away 10, 000 tickets and a wide screen is provided at the nearby stadium to those who didn't get the free tickets.With the successive winnings of Azkals Filipinos enthusiasm for football is rekindled. It inspired young footballers to do better with the sport.

Congratulations Philippine Azkals! Aim higher and good luck!

The next match of the team will be on March 15, 2011 to be held in Mongolia's home base in their participation to AFC Challenge Cup.