While April was a quiet month in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking, one story did continue to raise its voice – that Philippines keep sailing in uncharted seas as they climbed to their highest position in history.
Buoyed by an impressive tilt at earning qualification for 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ which, while unsuccessful, saw them quadruple their number of wins in searching for a place at the finals and pushed them up to 115th in the world. A pulsating last-gasp winner against Korea DPR ultimately secured them a third-place finish in Group H, earning a spot in the next round of AFC Asian Cup 2019 qualifying.
Having started out with a pair of wins in their opening two games, it could have been even better. Goalkeeper Neil Etheridge, who was in fine form both in that 3-2 win and the narrow 1-0 defeat to eventual group winners Uzbekistan a game earlier, has been a regular part of the side since making his debut in 2008 and knows they could have ended the group with something even sweeter.
“From the start of the group stages to the end everything changed, and that’s football,” he told FIFA.com. “We did a fantastic job in our first two games, we were joint top.”
This lofty position was almost beyond belief for Azkals fans. However, defeats to Bahrain and Yemen – where Etheridge admits “we weren’t at our best” – saw them plummet back to earth and left their hopes of reaching their first continental finals in choppy waters.
“Coming into the last two games we knew we needed three points out of six to realistically keep on track for qualifying for the Asian Cup,” the Walsall goalkeeper said. “These were going to be the two toughest games no matter where we were in the group.”
Having fought valiantly with ten men for 80 minutes against Uzbekistan, in what the under-fire Etheridge felt was “a great personal performance” following a series of stunning saves, they succumbed to a solitary Anzur Ismailov goal. Recalling the crestfallen dressing room, the ex-Fulham keeper said: “We knew this meant the North Korean game had just got even bigger.”
Defending stoutly, against a side needing three points to keep their own World Cup dreams alive, they went ahead just before half-time through Misagh Bahadoran – though not for long. “We conceded straight away, then after half-time a lack of concentration at the back from a few individuals saw us go 2-1 down.”
Their hopes looked to be dwindling, but Manuel Ott fired home to set up a grandstand finish, before substitute Iain Ramsey arrived on the scene to slot in from ten yards on 90 minutes to trigger pandemonium in the stands and on the field. “The celebrations just showed how much the result meant to everyone in the stadium and the country – players included,” Etheridge explained, who has seen the country’s love of football grow massively since joining up with them.
“When I joined in 2008 we were extremely low ranked, pitches in general were rare, [fans] didn’t understand the game or how it was played,” he recalled. “Unlike in Europe, you wouldn’t see boys and girls playing football in the street. Now you’re starting to see more around the country and success for the national team will help that.”
Despite representing England at youth level, he qualified for a call-up through his Filipino mother and made his debut as an 18-year-old with them sat at a lowly 189th in the world. Having seen facilities and professionalism develop, stepping out on the continental stage is now looking achievable. “The Asian Cup is the major priority and a realistic stepping stone for us,” he said. “Qualifying is definitely within our reach. If you asked me five years ago I’d say realistically it wouldn’t have been.
“We were extremely close a couple of years ago when we lost to Palestine in the final of the Challenge Cup, which has probably been our biggest frustration, coming that close. It was arguably a fraction too early but for us now we know we’re at that level.”
With a young squad – “I don’t think there’ll be anyone over the age of 30 in our next games” – and an experienced coach in USA’s 1998 World Cup captain Thomas Dooley, there’s plenty of optimism this all-time high can be topped. “[Dooley joining] was probably seen as a strange decision when he was first appointed,” Etheridge admitted, “as he’s had a great career, in Germany and representing USA in two World Cups, but he has been fantastic with all the players.
“He wants to develop Filipino football. He’s shown that behind the scenes with his talks, coaching and speaking to the press. He wants to be there for the long run and improve the level of football both in the national team and the league itself.”
The AFF Suzuki Cup heads to Philippines in November and Etheridge believes this is the next step in building football in the country, both on and off the pitch, and seeing this growth has been a real point of pride. “Being part of the kick-start in development of Filipino football is something I’ll keep with me well into my retirement.”