MANILA: Goalkeeper Eduard Sacapano’s performance glossed over Philippines’ defensive frailties in a goalless draw against Singapore in the first leg of the AFF Suzuki Cup semifinal yesterday.
The partisan crowd at Manila’s Rizal Memorial Stadium watched anxiously as Sacapano pulled off a number of first-half saves to thwart three-time champions Singapore.
Playing their first home match in the tournament’s history, Philippines dished out a vastly improved performance in an eventful second half even though they could not break the stalemate.
Singapore host Philippines in the second leg at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Wednesday.
Yesterday’s match began with both teams observing one-minute silence in memory of the victims of the Dec. 6 typhoon that left nearly 1,000 people dead or missing in southern Philippines.
Singapore were making dangerous inroads as soon as play started and the visitors nearly scored before the half hour mark when Sharik Ishak’s header from a Aleksander Duric cross narrowly missed.
Sacapano was soon intercepting a dangerous Ishak cross and the home team’s defense threatened to succumb under constant pressure.
Philippines did get a chance to grab the lead but Phil Younghusband’s weak shot was easily dealt with by Singapore goalkeeper Mohamad Izwan Mahbud.
Marwin Angeles and Chieffy Caligdong came off the bench to add teeth to the Filipino attack in the second half but Singapore’s compact defense ensured the visitors were unscathed.
“In general, it was a good game. They did not score, we did not score,” Singapore coach Radojko Avramovic said.
“I think we lost concentration in the first half. We should have scored a goal in that period,” said the Serb.
Singapore could also have scored in a rough second half but Duric’s header off an Ishak cross sailed wide.
“The second half was much better but still not to the potential that we can play,” Philippines’ coach Michael Weiss said.
Singapore, Philippines share spoils AFF Suzuki Cup semis
Singapore, Philippines share spoils AFF Suzuki Cup semis
Trump said Iran ‘welcome to compete’ in World Cup, says Infantino
US President Donald Trump has said that Iran is “welcome” to participate at the upcoming World Cup in North America, despite the ongoing Middle East war, FIFA chief Gianni Infantino said on Wednesday.
The war, triggered by US-Israeli strikes on February 28, has thrown into doubt Iran’s participation at this summer’s men’s football World Cup, jointly hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States.
During a meeting to discuss preparations for the competition, “we also spoke about the current situation in Iran,” Infantino, the head of world football’s governing body, wrote on Instagram.
“During the discussions, President Trump reiterated that the Iranian team is, of course, welcome to compete in the tournament in the United States,” he wrote.
The comments marked the first time that Infantino, who in December created a FIFA peace prize and awarded it to Trump, has acknowledged the ongoing war in the Middle East.
Trump’s remarks to Infantino are a stark contrast to his comments to Politico last week.
Trump told Politico: “I really don’t care” if Iran play at the World Cup.
FIFA’s president has grown close to Trump since he returned to the White House, even attending his inauguration.
Asylum claims
Iran’s federation football chief on Tuesday cast doubt on his team’s participation in the sporting extravaganza, following the defection of several women footballers from the Islamic republic during the Asian Cup in Australia.
“If the World Cup is like this, who in their right mind would send their national team to a place like this?” Mehdi Taj asked on Iranian state television.
While the event is spread out across three countries, Iran are scheduled to play all three group games in the United States, two in Los Angeles and one in Seattle.
Should Iran withdraw from the sport’s quadrennial showpiece, it would be the first time a country did that since France and India pulled out of the 1950 finals in Brazil.
On Tuesday, at the Women’s Asian Cup in Australia, some players from Iran’s team claimed asylum after they came under fire from state television for not singing the country’s national anthem before one match.
Five players, including captain Zahra Ghanbari, slipped away from the team hotel under the cover of darkness to claim sanctuary from Australian officials, the Australian government announced.
At least two more team members applied to stay later in the day, according to local media.
However, Australia’s Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said on Wednesday that one of them had subsequently changed her mind.
Burke said in parliament on Wednesday that he had since been advised that one of the group “had spoken to some of the team mates that left and changed their mind.”
“She had been advised by her team mates and encouraged to contact the Iranian embassy,” he said.
“As a result of that, it meant the Iranian embassy now knew the location of where everybody was.”
The remaining players have been moved from a safe house to another location, he said.
