Mongolians 'mum' on chances vs Phl side

BACOLOD CITY , Philippines  – Little-known Mongolia continues to keep the Philippines guessing as to what it’s going to bring to the table against the Azkals.

The 22-member Mongolian squad arrived here yesterday for their AFC Challenge Cup match with the Azkals, adding to their mystique by coming in without an interpreter to relay their thoughts on the Feb. 9 game.

“No English,” was all coach Erdenabat Sandagdorj could tell mediamen who waited for them at their hotel.

Asked whether he feels the Philippines is good, the Mongolian mentor only nodded his head and then he and his 20 players proceeded to their rooms to rest after a taxing flight from Guangzhou, China.

The Mongolian side will only have one chance to test the Panaad pitch today before plunging into action tomorrow, giving the Azkals a real advantage in terms of familiarity with the turf.

But Mongolia enjoys the advantage of being able to better scout Phl’s most recent games, including their semis stint at the PFF Suzuki Cup, conceded Azkals coach Michael Weiss. The Mongolians haven’t been active in international competitions in the 2010.

“There’s a possibility that we might meet a defensive opponent. The Mongolians obviously have better chances of scouting us than the other way around. They will have their tapes, they will have their research and they will not play very offensively, that’s clear, so we’ve been working on our own tactical approach for this match, on having a solution playing against a compact side,” he said.

Weiss also believes Mongolia neither has the experience nor sufficient training for the duel.

“The team seems to be in transitional phase, they’re bringing in young, inexperienced players and their coach is not exposed to international matches yet,” he said.

“They had difficulty playing matches because of the strong weather in Mongolia and they only started training in December. I’m not sure if they’re in top level conditioning at this time,” he added.