MALAYSIAN national coach Krishnasamy Rajagobal expects the Philippines, based on its current record and world rankings, to hurdle Sri Lanka in the opening round of their Asian World Cup qualifiers kicking off in Colombo on June 29.
"Looking at it on paper, the Philippines should beat Sri Lanka," said Rajagobal, the featured guest speaker in the 1st Philippine Football Conference organized by the PFF technical committee headed by former national coach Aris Caslib.
The two-day affair was held at the San Beda College in Mendiola, Manila over the weekend.
After their successful stint in the Asian Group stages last March in Myanmar, where they placed second to enter the main draw for 2012, the Azkals are presently ranked No. 154 in the FIFA ratings, 19 rungs higher than the Sri Lankans, who are ranked 173.
But the 54-year-old Selangor native, who is credited for Malaysia’s recent successes in the 2009 Laos Southeast Asian Games and last year’s Suzuki Cup, cautioned the Filipino booters from being overconfident because "first and foremost, you have to show respect to all teams."
"Remember that Sri Lanka beat India in the South Asian Football Federation tournament and was runner-up in the Asian Challenge Cup in 2006," added Rajagobal, who is also set to prepare his own charges for their World Cup qualifier against Chinese-Taipeh kicking off on the same date in Taipeh.
He said he is Malaysia would advance to the next stage at the expense of the Taiwanese, setting up a second-round showdown with traditional rival Singapore.
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