Dubai: The Philippines are looking to reach the third round of World Cup qualification for the first time in their history after kicking-off their campaign with back-to-back wins over Bahrain 2-1 and Yemen 2-0 this month.
Despite their 100 per cent start, German-born coach Thomas Dooley, who represented the US at the 1994 World Cup, is keeping the squad grounded ahead of follow-up ties with Uzbekistan and North Korea from September.
“We had a great start, but there is no room to play with overconfidence,” said Dooley in an exclusive email interview with Gulf News. “It’s just the beginning and six more games remain.
“Eighteen points are still out there and we need to collect as many as we can. I said from the beginning that this is the toughest group to be in.”
The Azkals (Tagalog for Street Dogs) will now play Uzbekistan on September 8, a team still reeling from their opening 4-2 defeat to North Korea this month, which resulted in coach Mirdjalal Kasimov making way for Samvel Babayan.
“It could be that they are angry and disappointed,” Dooley said of the Uzbeks. “They will want to make up for it against us and will be 100 per cent motivated, it will be very difficult to get a point.
“They are 60 places above us in the rankings and we are again the underdogs. But there’s also another way of looking at it. They could be scared to fail again. In the end it’s up to us, how we play, how we follow our game plan and how focused we are.”
Based on North Korea’s start, having beaten Yemen 1-0 and Uzbekistan 4-2 this month, Dooley conceded that the Koreans are now favourites to win the group and claim automatic promotion to the third round, while the Philippines — a team made up largely of players with mixed heritage — will be left to contest for one of the four best runners-up spots.
“North Korea have emerged as the best team in the group based on results so far. I’m always realistic and yes expectations have changed, it’s got more difficult because of Korea’s performance.
“Our goal is still the same though, to qualify as one of the four best second places. In football anything is possible and we believe that this is possible.”
Asked what it would mean for the archipelago to reach the third round for the first time in their history, he replied: “A huge deal. We could promote and market football in The Philippines much better and let the kids know that through football there’s a better future. Media presence will increase resulting in more sponsors and more fans and young players, and it would bring the ultimate goal of one day qualifying to a World Cup much closer.”
The Philippines narrowly missed out on what would have been debut qualification to the 2015 Asian Cup after losing the final of the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup 1-0 to Palestine in the Maldives last summer. But Dooley said the players are now ready to make amends.
“The little details are kicking in big time,” he added. “When I came in 18 months ago I told the players two things: I want you to play football, not chase the ball. And we need to build a team. You don’t need the best players to be successful, the best team wins championships.
“In the last two games we could see that we are getting close to what I have in mind. But we can’t stop there. We need to continue moving forward, playing faster, making the right decisions quicker, and being evermore hungry for success.”
