MANILA, Philippines — Pinuri ni Azkals head coach Sven-Goran Eriksson ang matikas na ipinamalas ng kanyang bataan laban sa powerhouse South Korea sa pagsisimula ng kampanya nito sa 2019 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup sa Al-Maktoum Stadium sa Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Bagama’t lumasap ang Pilipinas ng 0-1 pagyuko sa South Korea, saludo si Eriksson sa magandang inilaro ng Azkals.
“I am proud of the team that went out there. We stood out to them. They had the ball much more than we had but we created some chances and with a little bit of luck, we could have gotten a different result,” wika ni Eriksson.
Pinahirapan muna ng Azkals ang South Korea bago makuha ang nag-iisang goal nito sa ika-67 minuto ng laban.
“I think we showed here that this country can play good football. We did a lot of good things defensively and created chances,” dagdag ni Eriksson.
Depensa ang naging armas ng Azkals upang maiwasan na magulpi ng World Cup veteran at world No. 53 South Koreans.
Liyamado ang South Korea sa Pilipinas sa ball possession (81 percent-19 percent), shots (16-6), on-target attempts (6-2) at passes (719 o 90 percent passing accuracy-171 o 55 percent).
Subalit halos hindi ito maramdaman dahil sa magandang inilaro ng Azkals.
Naisalba lamang ng South Korea ang laro nang iselyo ni Hwang Ui Jo ang game-winning goal sa second half.
Muntik nang makapuntos si Javier Patiño sa first at second half subalit nasawata ito ni South Korean goalkeeper Michael Falkesgaard.