Azkals vs Kuwait Live Streaming Updates

The 1st leg of the Philippine Azkals vs Kuwait Al-Azraq game in Round 2 of 2014 FIFA World Cup Qualification Stage is happening right now in Kuwait, and is being aired live on ABS-CBN Channel 2.

Azkals team captain Aly Borromeo and midfielder Stephan Schrock have been suspended by the FIFA Disciplinary Commitee and aren't playing for the team after they incurred 2 yellow cards during their last game vs Sri Lanka. Jason Sabio and Jason De Jong fill in.

Here's the starting 11 line-up for the Philippine Azkals in their match vs Kuwait Al-Azraq:

#10 Phil Younghusband
#13 Chieffy Caligdong
#12 Angel Aldeguer Guirado
#7 James Younghusband
#8 Manuel Ott
#21 Jason De Jong
#27 Ray Jonsson
#2 Rob Gier
#4 Anton Del Rosario
#3 Jason Sabio
#1 Neil Etheridge

The Azkals are in white, while Kuwait team wears blue.

Game has started...at 12:30 AM (Philippine Time) being aired live on ABS-CBN Channel 2.

Angel Guirado hurt badly at 5th minute. Kuwait's player #4 was booked with a yellow card.

Player #20 Yousef Nasser of Kuwait scored 1st goal, at 17th minute.

Half-time stats:
Goals Scored - Kuwait 1, Philippines 0
Goal Attempts - Kuwait 7, Philippines 5
Corner Kicks - Kuwait 5, Philippines 2
Yello Cards - Kuwait 1, Philippines 0

Player #13 Musaed Neda of Kuwait scored the 2nd goal, at 68th minute of the game. #13 later got a yellow card at 75th minute, the 2nd yellow card for Kuwait.

Another goal scored for Kuwait at 85th min., by Player #11 Fahed Al-Ibrahim.

Extra time of 4 minutes, #5 Simon Greatwich subs in for Chieffy Caligdong. Greatwich was later booked with a yellow card at 93rd minute.

Fil-Iranian Misagh Bahadoran, Player #14 of the Azkals, subs in for Angel Guirado.

Game ends...Kuwait 3-0 Philippines.

The Leg 2 of the Philippines vs Kuwait Match will be held this July 28, 2011 at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.

Azkals vs Sri Lanka Live Updates

The Philippine Azkals faced Sri Lanka in its first qualifying playoff for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

The Azkals (Philippines) vs Sri Lanka football match happened at the Colombo Sugathadasa Stadium with live coverage on Studio 23 which started at 5:20 PM and the game kicked off at 6:30PM.

LIVE SCORE UPDATE: Sri Lanka 1, Philippines 1
Sri Lanka's Chathura Gunarathna scores first goal 4 minutes before 2nd half of the game (41st minute)
Not giving his best performance, Phil Younghusband was replaced by Fil-Am Nate Burkey before halftime.
Burkey scored the first goal for the Philippine Azkals 4 minutes after the 2nd half (at 49th minute). He was later replaced by Ian Araneta.
Azkals' players who got 1 yellow card each were James Younghusband, Stephan Schrock and Aly Borromeo.
Sri Lanka also received 3 yellow cards. One each for Anton Nimal Fernando, Nadeeka Pushpakumara and Safraz Kaiz.
Game ends in a draw with 1 goal each for Sri Lanka and Philippines.

Here's the Philippine Azkals' line-up on today's match vs Sri Lanka:

Team Captain: Aly Borromeo
Goalkeeper: Neil Etheridge
Strikers: Phil Younghusband, Angel Aldeguer Guirado, Misagh Bahadoran, Ricardo Bicete
Midfielders: James Younghusband, Emilio "Chieffy" Caligdong, Manuel Ott, Jerry Lucena, Stephan Schrock, Nate Burkey
Defence: Aly Borromeo, Anton del Rosario, Rob Gier, Ray Jonsson, Roel Gener, Jason Sabio

The Azkals' starting 11 line-up included Etheridge, Borromeo, Gier, Phil and James Younghusband, Caligdong, Guirado, Mulders, Ott, Shrock and Del Rosario while Sabio, Bahadoran, Araneta and Burkey were subsitutes.

Other qualifying matches for Asian countries are also happening simultaneously with the Philippinez vs Sri Lanka June 29 match being held in different venues, such as Cambodia vs Laos, Nepal vs Timor-Leste, Afghanistan vs Palestine, Bangladesh vs Pakistan, Mongolia vs Myanmar, Vietnam vs Macau and Malaysia vs Taipei.

But the Philippines vs Sri Lanka playoff was predicted to end up as among the 3 most interesting from those 8 matches.

The 2nd leg of the Azkals vs Sri Lanka will be on July 3 to be held at the Rizal Memorial Football Field.

Azkals vs Bangladesh Results: Azkals wins, 3-0, advances to AFC Challenge Cup 2012

The Philippine Azkals have made us so proud when they won earlier vs Bangladesh with a score of 3-0, during their final match in the AFC Challenge Cup 2012 Qualifiers.

That's more than what we've expected right?

The Azkals vs Bangladesh match happened at Myanmar's Bogyoke Aung San Stadium, 3:30 PM, (5:00 PM Manila Time) and despite having no live TV coverage, the live updates from ABS-CBN's Dyan Castillejo and Inquirer's Cedelf Tupas were enough to keep us updated with the game. (Read live updates HERE).

And definitely, they're more than enough for us to celebrate with the victory of the Azkals, who now qualifies for the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup.

The Azkals indeed played amazingly, most especially Ian Araneta who scored the first goal and Angel Aldeguer Guirado who scored the next two goals. The deliveries of the goal were reportedly so much impressive!

Group A Final Team Standing:
1. Palestine (2 wins, 1 draw) 7 points
2. Philippines (1 win, 2 draws) 5 points
3. Bangladesh (1 win, 2 losses) 3 points
4. Myanmar (1 draw, 2 losses) 1 point

And so far, these are the teams who have already qualified for the 2012 AFC Challange Cup:

Group A: Palestine and Philippines
Group B: India and Turkmenistan
Group C: Maldives and Tajikistan
Group D: (still to be determined)

And what's more amazing is that, the Philippines is the only one so far from among the 8 lowest-ranked teams (those who went through the pre-qualifiers) who has already qualified for the final tournament.

A well-deserved "hero's welcome" awaits the Philippine Azkals as they come back to Manila this Sunday.

AZKALS' TWEETS AFTER THEIR HISTORIC WIN AGAINST BANGLADESH

@Jsabio3 (Jason Sabio) "What a feeling! Thank you to all the Azkal fans!! This win was for y'all and for us. Pinoy Pride! Let's celebrate this historic moment!! :)"

@anton_delro (Anton del Rosario) "Great win, good feeling, priceless!!! Thank you all for the support, couldn't have done it without you guys!"

@alybor11 (Aly Borromeo) "On to the final 8.. What a sweet victory! History in the books once more!! Thank you everyone for your undying support! :)"

@Neil38Etheridge (Neil Etheridge) "Heya all! Thank you for your support! Massive win! The team played well! Celebrations!"

Azkals vs Palestine Live Updates, Mar 23 Match, AFC Challenge Cup 2012

The Azkals vs Palestine match under Group A of the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup Qualification Stage is happening right now, March 23, 2011, in Myanmar.

Read on for live updates from Twitter:

*The Philippine Azkals' Starting Line-Up:

Neil Etheridge
James Younghusband
Aly Borromeo
Ian Araneta
Ray Jonsson
Rob Gier
Anton Del Rosario
Chieffy Caligdong
Simon Greatwich
Angel Aldeguer
Jerry Lucena

*From Cedelf Tupas: [5:01 PM] Nat'l Anthem playing now. Azkals in new white kits. Neil wearing all-blue. Palestine in red.

*From Dyan Castillejo: [5:00] Game starts.

[5:01] Throw in Anton

[5:02] Long kick Palestine, Jerry heads it to Phil, now in possession and gives it to Anton

*From Cedelf Tupas [5:04] Azkals have most of the ball from 2 minutes, but Palestine earns 1st corner

[5:07] Pal's Ashraf wd dangerous run after dispossessing Angel, but striker Murad offside. 0-0, 7th minute.

*From Dyan Castillejo: [5:08] Foul by Aly

[5:09] Good catch by Neil after Palestine's free kick

[5:10] Foul by Simon

*From Cedelf Tupas: [5:11] PAL conservative style hoping to catch us on counter, following Azkals to play possession

[5:12] Angel still feeling effects of muscle strain, going down easily on soft tackles.

[5:13] PAL difficult to break down wd 5 man midfield. Azkals settling for long balls.

[5:14] 13th min first corner for Azkals cleared by Palestine

[5:18] First chance from PAL Ismael shot deflected side netting. Murad hits post on d ensuing corner. 18th min still 0-0.

[5:20] Neil struggling wd placement of his free kicks

[5:22] PAL wing play on right causing problems for Azkals

[5:23] PAL's Ismael has already beaten Jonsson twice on d right flank. Aly clears.

[5:25] Ian chests down Anton's long pass at the edge of area, plenty of space but no one is there to shoot

[5:32] Chieffy earns free kick left side. James wd delivery ball bounces on Ian and Rob's head and out for throw-in.

[5:33] Greatwich yellow card for simulation / diving inside the box. 0-0.

*From Dyan Castillejo:
[5:34] Another attempt by PAL way over goal post

[5:35] Foul by PAL first one, ball to PH. Neil kicks long to Angel.

[5:36] Oh my God! Long kick by PAL almost went in. Thank God it hit goal post, Neil leaped up to post and he is now down, oh no.

[5:37] Ok Neil is up. Long kick now.

[5:40] Corner kick for PAL.

[5:41] So many defenders, Chieffy down, got hit in bad spot

[5:42] Another attempt by PAL. Neil gets it. Yes!

[5:45] 45 mins gone, 2 mins extra now.

[5:46] Corner kick for PH

[5:47] Ok, it's half time. 15 min. break.

*From Cedelf Tupas: [6:02] 2nd half starts. No change for Azkals.

[6:04] Attempt: Angel wd back header too high after free kick from Ray. 46th min.

[6:11] Great defending Gier. Ashraf trying to cut inside from left but Rob gets a touch for a goal kick.

[6:13] Attempt: PAL stinging shot from 30 yard, Neil easily saves. 56th min.

[6:18] Sub Yannick Tuason for Greatwich. 61st min.

[6:19] Angel wd a header off Anton's free kick saved by PAL's Abdallah. 62nd min.

*From Dyan Castillejo: [6:23] Corner kick for PAL

[6:26] yellow card for player 41 of PAL

[6:35] yellow card for Anton

[6:39] 0-0 still. Lots of attempts so far by the Azkals

*From Cedelf Tupas: [6:40] The pacy swinger Ismail of PAL is substituted. Both teams just lack quality to finish.

[6:48] 3 min. injury time. Rob Gier's header from Anton free kick straight at Abdullah

[6:49] Palestine in no rush. Look like they'll be happy wd a draw.

FINAL SCORE: 0-0

Azkals midfielder Simon Greatwich says NO to butt autograph | Neil Etheridge back as Azkals' goalkeeper in Myanmar

Azkals' midfielder Simon Greatwich shared on Twitter that after the Philippine Azkals' game in Mongolia yesterday, a young male fan (probably a Mongolian fan) asked for an autograph from him, but he refused it. Oh why?

Well, it's because, according to Simon, the said fan was requesting him to autograph his bottom. Yikes! Lol!

But how about a breast autograph request?

***

Now, let's get serious...

The Philippine Azkals probably is in panic mood now after losing to Mongolia yesterday.

Let's admit it,the Philippine Azkals underestimated the Mongolian team yesterday.

Though many factors contributed to their defeat, definitely the team also felt the loss of Neil Etheridge as its goalkeeper in Mongolia.

And now, as they advance to the group stage starting with their game against Team Myanmar on Monday, the Azkals will be bringing Neil Etheridge back as its goalkeeper.

Are you guys happy to hear that?

Neil confirmed it himself on Twitter just a while ago. He said that his international football club, Fulham FC, has allowed him to join the Philippine Azkals in Myanmar.

***

Meanwhile, if Phil Younghusband crushes on Angel Locsin, James Younghusband has a crush on KC Concepcion and Chieffy Caligdong likes Angelica Panganiban (she's not flattered by it I guess), Azkals player Jason Sabio likes ABS-CBN sports reporter Dyan Castillejo. Look!

Photo courtesy of Simon Greatwich on Twitter

Azkals and Marlon Stockinger featured HOT on Metro Society, March 2011 issue | Magazine scans here!

Azkals players Neil Etheridge, Anton Del Rosario, Rob Gier, Simon Greatwich, Jason Sabio and team captain Aly Borromeo are on the cover of Metro Society's March 2011 'Men's Issue'.

And here are some scans from the said magazine where the Azkals hotties show off their bods. So hot! (especially the scan of Neil Etheridge. Something wanted to pop out!)

From L-R: Simon Greatwich, Jason Sabio, Neil Etheridge, Anton Del Rosario, Aly Borromeo and Rob Gier

 

Jason Sabio

 

Aly Borromeo

Anton Del Rosario

Neil Etheridge

Also featured inside Metro Society is the Fil-Swiss international racing champion Marlon Stockinger.

Those are so many reasons for you to buy the March 2011 issue of Metro Society. Take note, it's the mag's "Men's Issue", so expect lots of men there. Mag's cover:

All images courtesy of Metro Society Magazine

Poll Results: Hottest Hunks for February 2011

'Alakdana' star and Bench model Paulo Avelino has topped our Hottest Hunks Poll for February 2011, beating the likes of James Younghusband and Neil Etheridge of the Azkals, cager Simon Atkins and our 2007 Hottest Hunk Will Devaughn.

Voters probably loved Paulo's hot photos for Bench. Who wouldn't love those pics?

This Kapuso star is definitely getting hotter and hotter.

Here's the Top 10 Hottest Hunks for February 2011, based on your votes:

1. Paulo Avelino 9.37%
2. James Younghusband 8.35%
2. Sam Concepcion 8.35%
4. Rocco Nacino 8.18%
5. JM De Guzman 7.33%
6. Simon Atkins 6.98%
7. Erwan Heussaff 6.30%
8. Piero Vergara 5.62%
9. Will Devaughn 5.45%
10. Neil Etheridge 5.11%

All these 10 hunks now qualify for our 2011 Hottest Hunks Poll this October joining other monthly qualifiers.

So far, we now have 30 hunks who already qualified for the annual poll.

Nursing Board Exam Results 2011 (December 2010 Result) have been released! | Neil Etheridge of the Azkals makes one passer the happiest of all

The Nursing Board Exam Results for December 2010 have been released yesterday, February 19, 2011, with 29,711 Nursing Board passers out of 84,287 examinees.

And if there's one passer who was the happiest yesterday, it's Caren Ezra Fernandez from the Holy Trinity University in Palawan.

Or should I say, she's the luckiest of all because two players from the Philippine Azkals congratulated her.

She actually asked Azkals' Neil Etheridge (photo), Chieffy Caligdong, Phil and James Younghusband to congratulate her on Twitter last night.

And the two of them did. Neil (Neil38Etheridge) and Chieffy (ChieffyThe13) both congratulated Caren, who later posted on Twitter (carenezra13): "time to go to bed. I will sleep with a smile on my face because of two reasons. Happy...happy :))"

But I'm sure she couldn't sleep last night.

I can relate to what Caren felt after two celebs congratulated her. You know, if you're a fan of the Azkals or any other celebrities you admire the most, it's already a big thing if you receive a tweet from them, congratulating you for something. It brings out a different feeling.

I'm actually envious of Caren, because of many tweets I've sent to the Azkals players, I haven't received yet a single reply from any of them.

But I won't give up. Lol! [Sorry if I'm in an Azkal fan mood today!]

Now let's get more serious than that...

The number of passers for the Nursing Board Exam last December 2010 is only 35.25% of the total number of examinees.

The number of examinees actually decreased, which could have resulted to a higher passing rate. But it's not what happened.

The passing rate also went down, becoming the lowest passing percentage ever for a Nursing Board Exam during the last 10 years.

But still, congratulations to all passers!

Azkals, cover guys for Metro Society Magazine this March 2011

The Azkals are now certified cover guys!

This March 2011, the Azkals are on the cover of Metro Society Magazine.

Here's a picture of the Azkals from their photoshoot for Metro Society Magazine:

In the picture are Jason Sabio, Anton Del Rosario, Neil Etheridge, Rob Gier and Aly Borromeo.

Watch behind-the-scenes video from the said photoshoot...



Photo courtesy of hellyeah-azkals.tumblr.com / Video courtesy of notes1011

Neil Etheridge, Vice Ganda's newest crush

Azkals' goalkeeper Neil Etheridge is the new "apple of the eye" of Vice Ganda, at least as of the moment ('coz he might have a new crush tomorrow or the next day).

Vice, who's turning 35 this March, is now eyeing on Neil Etheridge, who just turned 21 last Monday, after liking Neil's teammate Phil Younghusband.

On Twitter last night, Vice tweeted Angel not to date Younghusband.

vicegandako: "@143redangel magpapaalipin ako sayo habang buhay wag m0 lang hadlangan ang pagiibigan namin ni Phil! Mahal ko sya!!! *nakaluhodnagmamakaawa"

vicegandako: @143redangel humanda ka! Sasapi ako sa mga bampira! Magtutuos tayo! Ako ang itinakda!!! Waaaaaa!!!!

But minutes later, Vice changed his mood and has given up Phil to Angel, coz he now likes another Azkals player, the hot and gorgeous Neil Etheridge.

vicegandako: "@143redangel o cge magpaparaya nako kay Phil. Basta ichika moko kay Neil Etheridge ha. Eeeeeeeee!!!!!!"

And then before Vice logged out of Twitter last night, he posted this tweet: "
A simple "Happy Valentine's Day" greeting from @Neil38Etheridge would make my life complete! Eeeeeee!!!!!!"

Neil Etheridge is now Vice's 4th crush this 2011, after Paulo Hubalde, Edward Mendez and Phil Younghusband, and the long list will definitely continue 'til the end of the year.

***

On a serious note...Neil Etheridge may not play for the Azkals' 2nd game against Mongolia on March 15. Seriously sad news right?

A brand new report on Inquirer Sports today says that it's unsure whether Neil's original team, the Fulham FC, will allow him to play again for the Azkals, especially that he now needs to devote more time for the Philippine team which has a strong chance of advancing to the group stage of the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup.

“I will be away for too long and the club may not allow that. But of course, I am also considering the importance of the match,” Neil tells Inquirer Sports.

Neil is also set to sign a long-term contract with Fulham FC. Does this mean goodbye for Neil as an Azkals player?

Neil Etheridge, Phil and James Younghusband of the Azkals are all "single"

Neil Etheridge and the Younghusbands, three of the Fil-Brit Azkals players, are all single, according to Phil Younghusband himself.

Azkals striker Phil Younghusband definitely made his fans happy when he revealed on national T.V. that he is very much single.

TV Patrol's Korina Sanchez had a one-on-one live interview with Phil last night and she asked if he has a girlfriend.

Phil gamely answered the question. "Wala, wala na po...Not right now
pero maybe siguro in the future."

And just because of that, Phil immediately made it to the Top 10
Trending Topics on Twitter the same evening.

Korina also asked how many Azkals are still single. Phil cited the names of those who are single and those who are not.

According to Phil, his brother James Younghusband (#7) is also single
as well as Neil Etheridge (#1). But Jason De Jong (#17), Rob Gier (#2) and Ray Jonsson (#27) are already taken.

And how about their goodlooking coach Simon McMenemy? Phil revealed that Simon already has a fiancee. (Yes, he's engaged to marry next year)

With the attention he's getting and now with lots of fans, Phil could easily break into showbiz. But the Fil-Brit footballer isn't open to it for now.

Korina asked if he wants to be an "artista", Phil said: "No, ayoko. Daming tsismis."

True! Showbiz might just cause him distractions, especially
now that Azkals have a promising future ahead of them.

Photos courtesy of Beetrix_ on Twitter and the AFF

Philippine Azkals returning to Manila tonight

The Philippine Azkals will be coming home to Manila tonight, a night after they lost to Indonesia at the AFF Suzuki Cup 2010.

GMA News' Chino Trinidad has posted on Twitter that the first batch of Philippine Azkals will arrive by 8:50 PM at the NAIA Terminal 2 and then another batch will arrive by 10:30 PM at the Terminal 1.

So if you're an Azkal fan and you're free tonight, you can drop by there and cheer for the Azkals who gave us so much pride at the AFF Suzuki Cup.

And definitely, the team still deserves a hero's welcome from us.

Neil Etheridge will still be with them as they return to Manila but he will only stay overnight.

According to GMA News, Neil, who's only borrowed from the Fulham Football Club in London, has to go back to England to report to his mother team.

Oh sad! But let's hope that he will still join the Azkals as they compete again in another football tournament.

The Philippine Azkals' stint at AFF Suzuki Cup was actually the beginning for them.

On February 9 and 16, 2011, the Azkals will face Team Mongolia for the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup Pre-Qualifying Stage.

It's going to be a home-and-away match and their Feb9 match against Mongolia will be held here in the country, finally at Bacolod Stadium.

If the Azkals win their playoffs against Mongolia, they will be qualified to join the Group Stage which begins March 20, 2011.

They will be assigned in Group B along with Palestine, Bangladesh and Myanmar, the one they already fought with at the AFF Suzuki Cup.

There's actually a lot to look forward to with the Philippine Azkals.

Phil and James Younghusband charm Indonesians | Neil Etheridge says sorry for the Azkal's loss to Indonesia

Phil and James Younghusband, the sibling players of the Azkals, have charmed Indonesian girls during their semi-final game at the AFF Suzuki Cup 2010 last Thursday.

According to a report from GMA 7's Saksi last night, Phil Younghusband is now being considered a heartthrob in Indonesia.

[Singer Christian Bautista also enjoys that status in Indonesia.]

On the Twitter world, "Younghusband" made it among the Top 10 Trending Topics on the evening of the fight between Azkals and Team Indonesia.

Indonesian girls reportedly contributed to that because of their numerous tweets expressing admiration to Phil and James.

Nice to know that, but I still can't forget how the Indonesian crowd at the venue made some "boos" everytime the ball was on the side of the Azkals.

The super loud cheers from Indonesians caused so much distraction to the Filipino players, most especially to goalkeeper Neil Etheridge and another player Ray Jonsson.

Neil and Ray couldn't hear each other so clearly. It led to Neil failing to catch the ball because he collided with Ray and gave way to Cristian Gonzales scoring a goal.

Neil reportedly cried at the locker room, blaming himself for what happened.

On this video report from ABS-CBN's Bandila, Neil says sorry for what he considers as his mistake during the game:

Oh, don't be sorry Neil! No one's blaming you.

In fact, we admire you for your courage in the field and for giving lots of saves for the Philippines.

The Azkals still has the chance to redeem itself tomorrow for the 2nd leg of their game with Indonesia.

Let's all wish them good luck!

Video upload courtesy of PINASISM5

Today's Hottie: Neil Etheridge of the Azkals - Philippine Football Team

Who else here loves Neil Etheridge?

If you got the chance to watch Team Philippines or the Azkals at the AFF Suzuki Cup 2010 preliminaries in Vietnam, you for sure have noticed the towering gorgeous goalkeeper Neil Etheridge in Shirt #1 who made lots of good saves for the Filipino team.

Neil Leonard Dula Etheridge, 20, is a Fil-Brit hottie who was born and raised in London, England, but his mother is originally from Tarlac.

He stands at 6'3" and I've heard he really got huge body parts. (Yeah, anything you expect to be huge!)

Neil got big hands that is why he just holds the ball with so much ease.

Check out some of Neil's pictures:

(It makes me go "green".)


(Can I fix it for you?)


(Neil got huge and strong hands which can grip the balls so firmly)


(Wow! Sexy butt!)


(Nice one!)


(Definitely not the worst player!)


(Great sporty bod!)


(He's got looooong legs. (As what TJ Manotoc puts it) His feet stick out to the other end of the table!)

Aside from Neil Etheridge, I also find these Azkals players hot: #17 Jason De Jong, #4 Anton del Rosario, #7 James Younghusband, #10 Phil Younghusband and actually all of them for putting Philippines on the football map.

Catch the Azkals as they face Team Indonesia in the semis of AFF Suzuki Cup this December 16 and 19 at the Gelora Bung Karno in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Photos courtesy of Fulham, Edwin Cabalida, thereisclaaarity @ Tumbler, TJ Manotoc @ Twitpic and Gatorade