PH Azkals ‘must play stronger’ vs Uzbeks

THE PHILIPPINES toppled Bahrain and Yemen in impressive fashion to kick off their World Cup Qualifying campaign last month, but skipper Phil Younghusband stressed that the Azkals need an even better performance when they clash with Group H top seed, Uzbekistan on Sept. 8.

The Azkals stunned Bahrain, 2-1, and blanked Yemen, 2-0, for a share of the group lead with North Korea.

But Younghusband expects the Uzbeks to come out strong in the match at Philippine Sports Stadium, considering the fact that they lost, 2-4, to North Korea earlier.

“We have to play better than we did against Bahrain and Yemen,” said Younghusband during the recent Trial Run for the Adidas Ace15 and X15 shoes at Sparta Philippines in Mandaluyong.

Along with older brother, James, Phil joined teammates Daisuke Sato, Manny Ott, Patrick Reichelt in testing adidas’ newest football line.

Patrick Giron, the Adidas product manager, said Ace15 is built primarily for ball control and balance, which suits the game of players like Mesut Ozil and James Rodriguez.

Giron said the X15 is built for attacking players like Thomas Muller, Gareth Bale, and Luis Suarez.