Determined to win the championship, Philippines sends Premier League goalkeeper to AFF Cup 2018

The decision of the Welsh team has made the Philippine football fans as well as football fans in the Southeast Asian region extremely excited, except for the fans of the teams that are direct opponents of Sven-Goran Eriksson and his team. What could be more wonderful than the appearance of a player playing in the tournament considered the most attractive of all national championships in the world, the Premier League.

Needless to say, everyone knows the level of the players competing in the number 1 arena of football in the "foggy country". Up to now, except for goalkeeper Neil Etheridge, no player from Southeast Asia has played in the Premier League, even on the bench. Yet the goalkeeper born in 1990 is also a pillar of Cardiff City Club, the rookie team of the Premier League in the 2018/2019 season.

Is the choice in goal for Cardiff City Club. Photo: Internet.

According to statistics, after 11 rounds of the Premier League this year, Neil Etheridge has been in the starting lineup of Cardiff City FC in all 11 matches and played the full 990 minutes. Neil Etheridge's performances have not disappointed coach Neil Warnock. Possessing excellent reflexes and a simple but solid way of catching the ball, the 28-year-old goalkeeper is a reliable and steady stopper in front of Cardiff City FC's goal.

The following statistics do not lie. Since the start of the 2018/2019 Premier League season, Neil Etheridge has made a total of 37 successful saves, saving the goal of the home team at Ninian Park. Up to now, the Filipino player is one of the goalkeepers with the most saves in the Premier League this year.

In addition to his excellence in 1-on-1 situations, aerial duels... Neil Etheridge also showed his ability to save penalties. In the first two matches of Cardiff City Club in the Premier League 2018/2019 season against Bournemouth (lost 0-2) and Newcastle (drawn 0-0), Neil Etheridge successfully saved 2 penalties from the opponent.

Neil Etheridge blocked Kenedy's (Newcastle) penalty kick. Photo: Internet.

Winning 2/3 penalties is enough to show how formidable the Filipino goalkeeper is in his ability to save direct free kicks from 11m (the only person to defeat Neil Etheridge is Chelsea's Hazard). It is not an exaggeration to say that there are not many goalkeepers in the Premier League at the moment who can save penalties better than Neil Etheridge.

With his proven talent and class, Neil Etheridge is a great addition to the Philippines National Team. Thanks to the presence and command of the goalkeeper currently playing for Cardiff City, the defensive ability of coach Sven-Goran Eriksson and his team will be greatly enhanced. Simply put, Neil Etheridge is more than “50% of the strength” of the Philippines National Team in the upcoming matches./.