“Every game is important,”

On the eve of the Philippine’s friendly against Maldives, Coach Thomas Dooley reiterated that the Azkals are going to play with all their might and all their heart.

“Every time there are friendlies, it is an opportunity to give a great game. The more you play (against other teams), the higher you play.”

To motivate his players, he stressed that losses at even at friendlies are costly. “You lose money. You lose points. You go down in the ranking. You also lose potential sponsors who could help the team.”

The match of against Maldives happens at the Rizal Memorial Stadium on September 3, just five days before the FIFA World Cup qualifier game versus Uzbekistan.

Coach Dooley also revealed that he wants to field most, if not all, of his men during the match.

“I hope that everybody gets 45 minutes,”  he said.

The Azkals, however, will have to do without the services of defender/midfielder Simone Rota whose seventh and eighth ribs were injured during the Stallion FC August 25 game versus Kaya FC. Rota was confined, and was recently discharged from the hospital according to the player’s Facebook update.

Dooley gave credit to Maldives’ effort, citing that they came a long way to play the Philippines, “They rode planes; They took two stops. They prepared.”

Meanwhile, in an article on maldivesoccer.com, Maldives acting national coach Ismail Mahfooz expressed the significance of their match.

“(It) will be an important game for us ahead of China to get confidence and improve the motivation of the players.”

Maldives will go against China in a World Cup qualifier game on September 8 in the northeastern Chinese city of Shenyang.

Last August 29, Maldives played against Stallion FC which ended in a draw, 2-2.