Philippine Daily Inquirer
Now available after skipping important
tournaments last year, goalkeeper Neil Etheridge and midfielder Manny Ott have
been recalled for the Philippine side that will face Burma (Myanmar) in an
international friendly in Yangon next week.
Etheridge missed the AFF Suzuki Cup last
year due to commitments with his club Fulham, while Ott also focused on his club
career in Germany last year, forcing him out of the AFC Challenge Cup as well as
the Suzuki Cup.
But with the Burma friendly on Feb. 6
falling on an international date, there seems to be no problem securing the
release of Ether-idge and Ott to the team which is preparing for the AFC
Challenge Cup Qualifiers in March.
The Azkals will face Turkmenistan, Brunei
and Cambodia in the Group E Qualifiers from March 22 to 26 at Rizal Memorial
Stadium. Only the top team in the group will advance to next year’s main
tournament in the Maldives.
England-based defender Rob Gier, who is
coming off a rock-solid performance in the Suzuki Cup, is also expected to
return to the side for the Myanmar match.
After the Burma match, the Azkals may stop
in Thailand to play a local club either on Feb. 9 or 10, according to Philippine
Football Federation general secretary Ed Gastanes.
Azkals manager Dan Palami said the other
players based in Europe like Stephan Schrock, Jerry Lucena and Dennis Cagara
will be called up in the late stages of the preparation or just during the
tournament itself.
No comments:
Post a Comment