Philippine Azkals eye higher FIFA world ranking

DESPITE the early exit of the Philippine “Azkals” from the 2014 World Cup qualifying, team manager Dan Palami believes the goal of the country to move up to 120th in the Federation Internationale De Football Association (FIFA) remains very doable.

The present FIFA ranking of the Philippines is 162nd but it is expected to slide down after its previous losses against Kuwait in the two-leg World Cup qualifying second round, where the Azkals absorbed a 0-3 and 1-2 setbacks for a 1-5 aggregate score. But in an interview with The Manila Times, Palami said the full development of football in the country will continue until it reaches its higher FIFA ranking and the Azkals will compete continuously abroad to get important exposures.

“Our goal to reach a higher FIFA ranking remains doable and our success in this span of time confirms that we are doing something right,” said Palami, who is set to bring new faces to reinforce the team in upcoming tournaments.

“I will go to Europe soon and scout for potential players that could suit up and possibly put in our senior line up in the future,” he said. “Despite we reached only the second round of world cup, it means a lot and so far we are doing right in our programs.”

Palami, who is responsible for the rise of Philippine football since last year, said the team will have a massive build up for next year’s Suzuki Cup where the Philippines has already qualified for the group stage.

The Long Teng Cup in September and the 26th Southeast Asian Games in Indonesia in November will be also his other focus.

Manila Times