MANILA – The Philippine men’s football team’s head remained up high despite their 0-1 defeat to the heavily-favored South Korea in the 2018 AFC Asian Cup last Monday at Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Azkals midfielder Stephan Schrock said in an interview with AFC Asian Cup website that they were satisfied with their showing after pushing the tournament favorites to the limit before conceding a goal to its star Hwang Uijo.
“They have a lot of good players, they are composed and technically, tactically much above average for Asian players. We are happy with the performance, of course we hoped for a draw or a win, but we couldn’t get it and we have to take it,” Schrock said.
He added: “After a game like this you will be having one teary eye and one which is ok with the result and with the performance. Korea is an outstanding team in Asia and everyone knows it, so we can be happy with that.”
The Filipino-German star also said their performance against the Koreans only proved that they will not go down without a fight despite being the first timers in the tournament.
“We surprised everyone I think,” he said. “I talked to some friends in Germany and from Iran, I received a lot of messages from other teams where former teammates are, and they are saying we did very well and we have something to build on.”
Schrock continued: “We have confidence, that’s why we qualified here in AFC Asian Cup in the first place, and we believe always in ourselves to upset someone and be annoying to the other teams.”
After the South Korean game, the Azkals will next battle Peoples Republic of China on Jan. 11 before capping off the group match against Kyrgyzstan on Jan. 16, both in Abu Dhabi./PN
