MANILA, Philippines - For the Kuwaitis who came to the Mohammed Al Hamad Stadium to see their revered Al Azraq side debut in the 2014 Fifa World Cup Asian Qualifiers second round, the tough stand by the Azkals – at least in the first 45 minutes – somehow came out of left field.
Not Goran Tufegdzic, though.
“I‘m not surprised,“ Kuwait XI‘s Serbian coach said after their 3-0 win over the Azkals Saturday. “I know this team has good players, especially offensive players, and this team is very strong and very serious, keeps system.“
Kuwait, he said, paid for “not playing defense and leaving space for Philippines“ in the first half, affording the Azkals three legit goal attempts while knocking down one on their end. But after the half-time break, “our players got more serious, got into a better rhythm,“ leading to two more goals.
“I‘m satisfied with how our team played only in second half,“ he candidly admitted after the match. “I think the (Azkals) coach made a very good reading to our team, we had a tough first half.“
“They were tough. We had to earn our points,“ Kuwaiti midfielder Fahed Al Elenezi said, for his part.
Seeing first hand how the Azkals play, Tufegdzic expects an even more intense resistance in tonight‘s second leg in Manila.
“Same as in Kuwait, (we expect a) very , very strong match. They (Azkals) will have big energy from spectators,“ said the Serbian, anticipating a throng of Filipino supporters.
Tufegdzic maintains experience in high-level international play gives his wards the edge. He‘s been head coach of Kuwait since 2009, steering Al Azraq to the Gulf Cup of Nation and West Asian Cup titles last year and the top spot in Four Nations International Football Tournament in Jordan early July.
“Philippines needs more experience as their team is in development (stage),“ he said.
How far is the gap in experience?
Al Azraq striker Bader Al Mutwa totes 106 appearances for the National team with a record 36 international goals since his debut in 2003. Azkals captain Aly Borromeo has 36 caps and four goals since 2004.
You do the math.