The Philippine nationwide males’s soccer group fell quick towards Iraq, 1-0, in its first match beneath new head coach Tom Saintfiet within the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers on early Friday (Manila time) on the Basra International Stadium.
A late objective by Mohanad Ali Kadhim on the 84th minute handed the loss to the Philippine facet.
“I’m disappointed about the defeat because I hate losing. But I’m very proud of the performance of my team. I knew that we would play against a strong team,” Saintfiet mentioned after the match.
“Like I said, my team did very well but one moment of lack of concentration and the [other] team utilized it,” he added.
For Saintfiet, it’s time to transfer ahead because the March window of the qualifiers proceed on the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila on Tuesday night time.
“I’m impressed with my players that in a short period of time, we could be difficult opponents for Iraq but in five days time, we will play again and we need to be fresh. Hopefully, we get to surprise Iraq in Manila again,” he mentioned.
The Philippines has but to report a win on this spherical of qualifiers because it fell to Vietnam and settled a draw towards Indonesia in the course of the November window.
—JKC, GMA Integrated News
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
