Philippines set for test in Hong Kong

Capellas

The Philippine Men's National Football Team are back in action on Thursday night, as they take on Hong Kong at the Hong Kong Stadium at 8:00PM. Fresh from an impressive victory over Tajikistan last month, the Filipinos are eager to build momentum heading into the highly anticipated ASEAN Championships in December.

“My focus is the way of playing, to help the players understand how I want to play, how I see football, and how I want them to perform. I know that if we play that way we want to play that we will increase the chances to win the game. My aim is not to win, but to be very close to how we want to play the game,” said Philippine Head Coach Albert Capellas.

Hong Kong head into the contest with high confidence, having beaten Cambodia 3-0 in their last outing. The home side are expected to be quick in transitions, dangerous on the flanks, and capable of moments of magic — particularly through their Brazilian-born players. The last meeting between the two sides was in 2013, in a friendly that the Philippines won in Hong Kong.

“I think Hong Kong is a very good team. I think we really need to put our best in the game [to get a good result],” said Paul Tabinas.

The match will be available to watch live on Premier Football Channel on cable and on Blast TV, as well as on the Philippine Men’s National Football Team’s Facebook Page.

“I invite the Filipino fans to watch the game. It’s a fantastic opportunity to enjoy football. For me as a coach, and our players, football is entertainment. In the end, it’s for the fans, it’s for them. I hope we fulfill our responsibility to deliver a good show, a good game that is fun to watch. I hope we will see a lot of them [here in the stadium] and I hope they can feel proud of the Philippine National Team. We will do our best,” said Capellas. “I’m very pleased to play this game with Hong Kong. It’s a fantastic opportunity for us. We are very happy to be here and we can’t wait to play the game tomorrow and enjoy the game — the beautiful game."