MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Azkals left immediately for Manila right after their game against Kuwait at the Qadsia Stadium.
The Azkals lost the 1st leg of the 2nd round World Cup qualifier, 3-0, and are looking to bounce back at home.
The players were disappointed at their inability to score a goal against Kuwait, despite having 3 golden opportunities in the 1st half.
Strikers Phil Younghusband and Anghel Guirado each had a chance to score for the Azkals.
"I'm still disappointed," Younghusband said.
Their 1st half performance was one of the best seen from the Azkals, especially against a much higher ranked Kuwaiti team.
But they had hoped to have a closer goal differential going into their home game in Manila.
"The game is not over, it's only the halftime," said goal keeper Neil Etheridge.
"I think we've taken big strides and big steps in football for the Philippines, and we need to give ourselves a pat in the back," he added.
The Azkals now face a difficult task on Thursday, as they need to win by at least 3-0 in order to have a shot at advancing to the next round.
But they are keeping their hopes up and promise to give their all in their upcoming game.
"We have to focus for 90 minutes, not only 60," Rob Gier said. "That's the thing we have to do in the next game."
The team had a lay-over in Dubai from Kuwait, and it was a 9-hour flight from Dubai to Manila.
But the Azkals are happy to be home and will have a day-off tomorrow.
On Tuesday, they resume practice and will also go back to studying the game tape.
They will also welcome back Stephan Schrock and Aly Borromeo, the 2 players who served 1-game suspensions after incurring 2 yellow cards each in the series against Sri Lanka.
Azkals Coach Michael Weiss says that having Schrock and Borromeo back on the team makes the Azkals considerably stronger.
"I think that will give us a big boost," Weiss said. "That (the suspensions) was one of the major reasons why we did not get a better result."
The Azkals also wish to extend their appreciation to all the Filipino fans who went out of their way to support the national football team.
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