2ND HALF REPORT - AZKALS vs Australia Olyroos U23

AZKALS lost its final match against Australia Olyroos U23 with final score of 0-1 held in Al Nasr Stadium, Dubai.

The second half lineup has Balut Doctora substituting Araneta. Doctora's presence proved to be an improvement to the team as he showed more power in ball steals. This made the Azkals spend more   ball time on the opponents field.

Other powerhouses on the 2nd half were Denis Wolf and Angel Guirado who had most time handling the ball and near goal attempts.

Misagh Bahadoran was subbed by Beloya who had the most near chance goal but converted it into an airball.

Jason de Jong and Angel Guirado both had their yellow cards.

It was expected that Australia U23 which had more experience to win the game. Having a 0-1 score in favor of the powerhouse Aussies showed that indeed we have improved defense. Jasion Sabio's presence replacing Aly Borromeo's line of defense was applaudable assisting the GK most of the time in saving the ball.


All in all, the 3-day matches gives a hindsight for Coach Weiss who the better players are and what strategies need to be improved.

We'll see the new and improved team against the Malaysian Tigers this coming February 29 at Rizal Coliseum.

HALFTIME REPORT - New dawgs in trouble with Australia U23

After winning over Qatar's Al Ahli SC, where did Azkals' gameplay go?

The absence of the majority vets caused lack of confidence of the AZKALS. Australia U23 scored earlier on the 11th minute by  #11 Jason Hoffman.

Other than Aly Borromeo, Chieffy Caligdong and Rob Gier not playing because of their injuries, brothers James and Phil Young husband wont be playing tonight because of further commitments in the Philippines. (Read Link)

Ray Jonsonn is acting as team captain for the game while Misagh Bahadoran and Ian were pushed up in the starting line up to make up with the lost of  key players.

Completing the list of the starting line up are brothers Angel and Juan Luis Guirado, Jason Sabio, Carli de Murga, Jason de Jong, Denis Wolf and Marwin Angeles.

The Azkals showed lack of confidence with having only 30% of ball possession .

Neil Etheridge has saved a lot of goal attacks with the help of Jason Sabio. Jason Wolf had an opportunity for a free kick a few second before the officials called the halftime.

AZKALS faces Australia U23 tonight

Azkals will end their last friendly tonight with Australia U23 at the Al Maktoum Stadium in Dubai tonight.

Fulham reserve GK Neil Etheridge missed the game with Al Ahli and will be playing alongside Philippine Azkals as the team's first choice goalee.

James Younghusband will be out of sight tonight and has aligned himself to one of the injured players alongside Caligdong and Borromeo. Thus, Fil-Icelandic defender, Ray Jonnson will be wearing the captain's armband leading the pack. Rob Gier is also indefinite playing due to his current calf problem.

Tune in to Studio 23 tonight (PHI) or TFC for live coverage of the final match in Azkals' Middle Eastern training camp.

Independence Cup in the works

Major English clubs like Blackburn Rovers, Fulham FC and
Queens Park Rangers were name dropped to be invited for friendlies.

A plan hatched yesterday of having a local two-week football tournament on June to be organized by the Philippine Football Association (PFF).

PFF President Mr. Araneta name dropped inviting major English football clubs like Fulham, Queens Park Rangers and Blackburn Rovers together with neighboring national teams from Singapore and Vietnam.

This will make the barking Azkals busy after the 2012 Nepal Challenge Cup to be held this March in Nepal.

The Azkals recently won a 3-1 match against Al Ahli SC of Qatar after a lost from Uzbekistan U23 with a score of 3-0.

Azkals will be gearing up on February 15 (Dubai time) against Australia Qantas U-23 for their last game in their Middle East tour.

Real Madrid proves Levante who's on top

Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid scores from the penalty spot during the la Liga match between Real Madrid and Levante at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on February 12, 2012 in Madrid, Spain.

Real Madrid showed dominance winning the game with 4-2 against Levante.