Team Philippines off to a bad start in Homeless WC

Team Philippines dropped its first two matches in the 2012 Homeless World Cup Sunday at the Plaza de la Constitución in Zócalo, Mexico City.
Construction worker Jhay-ar Estuaria from Leveriza, Manila scored the Filipinos’ lone goal in their 10-1 defeat against Austria in their first game, while John Paul Cordero from the Leyte-Samar Center for Change hit the net twice in their 11-2 loss to Portugal in their second match of the day.
The Homeless World Cup employs the rules of street soccer, a more fast-paced type of football game. Here, the game is played on a much smaller court and only involves four players – one goalkeeper and three outfield players – for each team.
Matches are only composed of two halves and lasts for seven minutes each. In case of ties, the result will be decided on penalty shootouts, leaving no room for draws.
Since the Filipinos arrived in Mexico a day after the start of the tournament, they were moved from Group C to Group G, which features European sides Portugal, Austria, Romania and Sweden.
The Philippines will next face Romania and Sweden on Monday (Tuesday morning Manila time).
The country has performed well in the competition since first joining in 2008, placing 26th out of 69 nations in the rankings last year.
The Homeless World Cup aims to bring change to lives of poor people worldwide through a football event.