Dubai: The Philippines are one of three AFC Asian Cup debutants and will begin their Group C campaign against Korea Republic, but head coach Sven-Goran Eriksson is aiming to spring a surprise on the two-time champions at the Al Maktoum Stadium on Monday. 



“Of course we don’t have the easiest of opponents in this tournament, we’re meeting one of the favourites to win the Asian Cup but there are always, now and then, surprises in football,” expressed Eriksson. “So why not even tomorrow?”

Speaking at the pre-match press conference in Dubai, Eriksson wasn’t shy to show his excitement in leading the Azkals to their opening match of the Continental showpiece, declaring: “We are, of course, excited as most teams are because you’re about to play the first game in such a big tournament.

“We have a team that has never been on this stage before, so that is very good for the whole country, the squad and everybody.”





Although the Philippines face the daunting task of playing Korea Republic, who will be making their 14th appearance, Eriksson isn’t entirely concerned about his opponents.

“When you meet such a good team, of course you’d have to look at how are they playing, what they are good at, what do you think they will do against us,” he said.

“I think we have studied them enough, we think we know what they will be trying to do tomorrow but at the same time if you concentrate everything on how Korea Republic play, we will lose our identity. It is very important that we try to play our way as well.

“Korea Republic is a big team, yes that’s for sure, but the Philippines is a big team as well from a big country. You will see tomorrow, that we have a lot of good football players. I’m sure that they are going out tomorrow, the starting-11, they are coming out to give Korea Republic a fight.

“On paper, they are the strongest team in our group and one of the strongest in the tournament, we know that, but that’s on paper, we will see how that is in reality.”

Group C includes a Marcello Lippi-led China PR and Kyrgyz Republic, who will also be making their debut in the Continental showpiece.

While many have picked Korea Republic as the tournament favourites, head coach Paulo Bento has his feet planted firmly on the ground, emphasising his respect for teams competing in the UAE 2019 and acknowledging that it would be to their detriment to underestimate their opponents.

“We are going to respect all the teams that we are going to play, and tomorrow we will have this behaviour since the beginning of the game, and we had this behaviour since the beginning of our preparations, which is the most important,” said Bento, who replaced Shin Tae-yong at the helm last August.

“A big mistake would be that if we think the game is going to be easy. That is the worst mistake we can make. I believe we are not going to make that (mistake). I believe in my players in the way that they are going to play.

“Our focus in this moment, is the game that we are going to play tomorrow. After that, we will think about the second, and after that, the third.”

The 49-year-old Portuguese also revealed his knowledge on the Philippines.

“We can conclude that Philippines is a team that uses two tactical systems. We will try to prepare our team for both situations, but at the same time, they are a team that uses counter-attacks in a good way with fast players.

“It will be a difficult game, but we will try to dominate the game from the beginning, and I think we have a good chance to win the game, although there will be lots of difficulties.”Source: the-afc.com