Azkals brace for tough North Korean showdown

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine Football Federation officials hope for the best as the Azkals tackle their next assignment in the FIfa World Cup qualifiers under less-than-ideal situation – an away match against formidable North Korea on Thursday in Pyongyang.

The Pinoy booters didn’t have the best buildup for this outing, with the team getting complete just a couple of days before kickoff. Then there’s the expected huge – and possibly hostile – crowd expected at the Kim Il-Sung Stadium to deal with, aside of course from the high-level skills of the Chollima on the pitch.

“First we’re playing an away match. Second, North Korea, when they support any national team, you get an entire nation watching. That’s going to be the environment. Third, which is our perennial concern, is the buildup of the team. We get our players three, four days before the competition so these factors will affect us so much,” said PFF technical director Aris Caslib said.

“The team must concentrate on at least achieving one point (draw), that’s the most important thing right now and to deliver one point – a draw in the game – will really push us again in good standing in the WCQ,” he added.

PFF president Nonong Araneta said he himself will be fine with a standoff in Pyongyang.

“For me, North Korea is a very strong team so hopefully kung maka-one point tayo okay na (if we get a draw, that would be an acceptable result),” he said.

Game-wise, Caslib said the Azkals need to do a better job with direct balls, a flaw highlighted in the team’s 1-5 loss to Uzbekistan last month.

“We have to address the way Uzbekistan scored against us and the way North Korea plays. When we watched North Korea play against top-flight teams, they play direct ball. And that’s how Uzbekistan scored a lot of goals against us. So direct balls must be addressed by our backline. It’s not only having five defenders but it’s how they will work together in dealing with that. And the upfront players must stop those direct balls,” he said.

The Azkals left Manila for Pyongyang last Sunday via Beijing. They hooked up with mainstays from Europe in the Chinese capital and from there, flew to North Korea.