The 23-year-old striker believes he has played in even worse conditions while seeing action for Chelsea in the Reserve League in England.

“I just think as long as you’re running around the pitch that won’t be a problem,” Younghusband, who scored one goal in the 2-0 win over Mongolia in the first leg in Bacolod City, told the Inquirer.

“On that day, I would rather be playing on the pitch than just watching the game [from] the stands.”

Younghusband said he was disappointed at the way Mongolia played the first leg, where the visitors opted to just sit back and defend.

“I expected them to be better,” said Younghusband. “At least they should have shown some composure on the ball.”

Younghusband added: “I don’t think I can be called complacent that even without Neil (Etheridge) and Rob (Gier) we can get a result in Mongolia.”

The scorer of 13 international goals for the Philippines believes the Azkals can come away with at least a 4-nil victory in Mongolia and move into the group qualifying in Yangon, Myanmar.

Temperatures in Ulan Bator were recorded at -13 degrees Celsius yesterday. The second match on March 15 is set at 1 p.m., which is already considered the hottest time of the day in the Mongolian capital.

The National Stadium in Ulan Bator has an artificial pitch and the Azkals have been familiarizing themselves with the surface by training at the International School Manila.

The Azkals underwent an unconventional training routine yesterday, walking through “Winter Wonderland,” one of the attractions in a theme park in Manila, before practicing at the ISM.

“We want the players to get a feel of the weather, see if they can really handle it,” said Azkals manager Dan Palami.

Palami, who will receive the Executive of the Year award for his work with the Azkals during the Philippine Sportswriters Association-Coca Cola Awards Night on Saturday, expressed confidence of the team making an impact beyond the Mongolia match.

Cedelf Tupas, Phil. Daily Inquirer