Philippines seeks bright King's Cup conclusion

c/o PFF

Only a month after facing each other in the Merdeka Cup in Malaysia, the Philippine Men’s National Football Team (PMNFT) is gearing up for a rematch with Tajikistan, this time in the King’s Cup in Thailand. The Filipinos impressed in the teams’ previous meeting, a 0-0 draw which the Tajiks won via a penalty shootout. This time around, the PMNFT will be hoping for a better result when they take the field on Monday, 5:30PM, at the Tinsulanon Stadium. The match will be aired LIVE on One Sports, One Sports+, Pilipinas Live, and on the team’s Facebook Page.

“We expect a good game. We played them last month in the Merdeka Cup in Malaysia and it was a good game from both teams. They were very good in individual quality and had good technical players, but we have a good squad right now, a good group, and we trust the process. We hope to play our game tomorrow and hope for the best,” said Bjorn Kristensen, who scored his first goal for the Philippines in the recent outing against Thailand.

Heavy rains were a massive factor in the team’s King’s Cup opener against the hosts. Such was the downpour that the game needed to be stopped for almost an hour. When the game resumed, the field was still waterlogged, making a smooth passing game almost impossible.

“We are a team in construction. We are changing a lot of things in our way of playing. I was very satisfied with our first half that we could handle a very tough opponent in Thailand,” said Philippine head coach Albert Capellas. “I hope tomorrow it doesn’t rain and we can offer a good game together with Tajikistan. We are two teams who like to have the ball, and I hope it can be a very nice game for all the spectators. We invite them all to watch.”

Whether or not another downpour takes place on Monday night, Kristensen isn’t too worried.

“Unfortunately we can’t do anything about the weather. We just have to adapt and play the way we have to,” he said

The Philippines (148) are placed 45 places below Tajikistan (103) in the FIFA Rankings. A victory on Monday would put an end to an extended drought for the team, and would be a positive sign to the start of Albert Capellas’ reign as Head Coach.