Tom Saintfiet. | PFF photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Newly-appointed head coach of the Philippine men’s national football team, Tom Saintfiet, told his players to enjoy the experience of being the underdog heading into the March 21 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers match against Iraq at Basra Stadium.
Saintfiet, in a video interview published by the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) a few days ago, said that Iraq is obviously the favorite team heading into their match.
Thus, he wants the players to enjoy the experience instead of putting pressure on themselves. Besides, Saintfiet believes that they have already made enough preparations before flying to Dubai, UAE, for their final training camp.
“We know that Iraq is the big favorite strong team to win the championships in Qatar in the Asia Cup, so we have nothing to lose, we are the underdog,” said Saintfiet.
“Going there to a stadium with almost 68,000 people it will be a special experience for all of us. We have to be well prepared and enjoy these games because we don’t play these games every week.”
Saintfiet, a Belgian, recently succeeded the coaching helm once held by German Hans Michael Weiss with the Philippine team.
Saintfiet is as seasoned as Weiss, having coached countries like Belgium, Qatar, Germany, Finland, the Netherlands, the Faroe Islands, and Jordan.
The Philippine men’s national football team recently revealed its final roster for the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.
Familiar and new faces comprise the Philippines’ squad for the Iraq matches. Veterans like Neil Etheridge, Patrick Reichelt, Amani Aguinaldo, Kevin Ingreso, Jose Elmer Porteria, and Santiago Rublico are on the lineup.
Along with them are new faces such as Cebuano Theo Libarnes, Cebu Football Club’s Chima Uzoka, Jeremiah Borlongan, Andres Aldeguer, and Kevin Ray Mendoza.
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