THE Philippine Azkals romped Timor Leste, 7-0, on Saturday night in the AFF Suzuki Cup 2020 at the Singapore National Stadium in the country’s most lopsided victory in the history of the tournament.
Azkals vs Timor Leste recap
Martin Steuble began the rout in the 21st minute, Bienve Marañon scored his first goal as a naturalized Filipino during added time, and the Azkals picked up their first win of the tournament after a 2-1 loss to Singapore on Wednesday.
Jesper Nyholm also made a notable debut with the national team as he contributed to he scoring party.
The blowout could come crucial later in their semifinal bid as the Azkals go up to second with three points on a +6 goal difference.
Azkals coach Stewart Hall was glad the team achieved their goals ahead of the Timor Leste match.
“I set the players three targets referring to the mental side,” said Hall. “First one was win the game because we need three points desperately. Second one, score goals because we need goal difference because it may come down to goal difference [for qualification] so we need goals.”
“The third one, get in front early because I want to make substitutions. I want to use 16 players. Those were the three objectives and we did it,” said Hall.
The previous record for largest winning margin for the Azkals was in 2014 when they beat Indonesia.
The Azkals now brace for a clash against Southeast Asia powerhouse Thailand on Tuesday at the National Stadium. Thailand won its first match against Timor Leste, 2-0, last Sunday.
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