Azkals 70 percent ready for AFF Suzuki Cup

MANILA, Philippines - A week before the Asean Football Federation (AFF) Suzuki Cup kicks off, Philippine Azkals coach Thomas Dooley said his wards are “70 percent ready” but expressed confidence they will reach top form in time for hostilities.

“How ready is the team? I’d say 70 percent,” Dooley said after the Azkals capped their pre-Suzuki Cup buildup with a 3-0 beating of Cambodia Friday night at Rizal Memorial.

“We’d have a couple of meetings individually with the players and everyone is really focused on that. They wanna do whatever they can to bring that (trophy) home,” he said.

Although they dominated the younger and less fancied Angkor Warriors, the Azkals still showed some chinks on their armor, especially in terms of defensive organization in the midfield.

“I think we can be much fitter, we can be much quicker, our passing could even be sometimes much better. That’s why I wanna have a game like this (Cambodia) where it’s a little bit easier to play our game, as opposed to playing a strong team that will not only put us under pressure but also not allow us to get confidence. When you play in the Suzuki Cup, you have  to have confidence to pass accurately and play exactly the way you wanna play,” said Dooley.

The Azkals will kick off their bid in Group A against qualifier Laos on Nov. 22 at My Dinh National Stadium in Hanoi. They will face Indonesia three days later then host Vietnam on Nov. 28, seeking to emerge in the Top 2 of the group to land in the semis for the third straight time.

“I’m 100 percent sure the team, every player will do whatever he can. And if there’s one player who makes a mistake that might lead to a loss, that could happen. If the team does tactical mistakes, then obviously it’s a bigger concern. But I think the players will be ready and fight and give everything they have, that we can make the people here proud,” said Dooley.

The Azkals  make their last public appearance in today’s Suzuki Cup Trophy Tour at the Central Plaza of Market!Market! before packing their bags for their Nov. 19 flight to Hanoi. They are set to hold a meet and greet with fans and a press conference at 5 p.m.

The event serves as the culminating activity for the AFF’s six-nation Trophy Tour that had previous stops in Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.