The Philippine national football team are set to face a tall order on Monday when they meet defending champion Thailand in Bangkok in the AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup.
The Azkals are looking to pull off an upset against the War Elephants as a follow up to their 5-1 drubbing of Brunei Darussalam last Friday night.
“It’s very important for this young group to bounce back,” said team captain Stephan Schrock on the PFF website.
Schrock made way for 18-year-old Harry Nuñez in the second half last Friday and the Azkals Development Team midfielder got involved in the team’s fifth goal scored by Sebastian Rasmussen.
“Without me, the average age of this team is 21 or 22. So for me, I’m very happy with their progress and I’m very pleased for them,” said Schrock. “We got one foot back in the tournament.”
But the nationals have little room for error against the potent Thais especially after losing their opener to Cambodia, 2-3, last Monday.
The Thais, the defending champions, opened their campaign with a 6-0 demolition of Brunei in Kuala Lumpur.
They are powered by the deadliest scorer in the competition in Teerasil Dangda who has a record 21 goals.
“It’s a totally different game, with a totally different mentality that will be asked from us,” said Schrock.
