Azkals enjoying top form in World Cup bid

MANAMA – With solid performances in the initial phase of hostilities, Azkals coach Thomas Dooley expressed confidence his wards can still give out more and level up heading into the homestretch of the Fifa World Cup qualifiers second-round play.

Except for their disappointing showing in a 1-5 setback to top-ranked Uzbekistan, the Azkals have put up a generally good run in the first stage of the double round-robin, home-and-away Group H, logging seven points and staying within striking distance of North Korea (10) and Uzbekistan (seven).

The first-go showed the Pinoy booters chalking up victories over Bahrain (2-1 in Bulacan) and Yemen (2-0 in the Yemenis’ designated home ground in Qatar) and coming through with a gutsy 0-0 draw with leader North Korea before a 50,000-strong hostile crowd in Pyongyang last week.

“I’m not surprised that the team is in this position now,” said Dooley.

“We still can improve and play to a higher level if we can get the details right in terms of preparations, structure,” he added.

The Azkals were gunning for another victory against Bahrain last night at the Bahrain National Stadium here and solo second  going to their remaining assignments against Yemen next month and Uzbekistan and North Korea in March 2016.

For the Azkals to advance to the third round of the WCQ, they need to top Group H or at the very least finish among the four best second-placers across the eight groups.

“We know we have a chance with the squad that we have and the motivation that we have. We know we have a chance to be at least No. 2 and we’re hoping the game against Korea next year will still have bearing,” said team manager Dan Palami.

Last night’s outing capped Phl XI’s gruelling two-game assignment on the road inside a 10-day period. This journey had them travelling for over 50 hours from Manila and different parts of Europe to Beijing, China for their flight to North Korea and back to China for another trip to Bahrain via Abu Dhabi.