Azkals for Challenge Cup qualifiers

Crack midfielder Stephan Schrock and goalkeeper Neil Etheridge will lead the cast of foreign-based players who have committed to play for the Philippine national men’s football team in the upcoming Asian Football Confederation Challenge Cup qualifiers this month.


Aside from Schrock and Etheridge, defenders Dennis Cagara, Juani Guirado, and Ray Jonsson, goalkeeper Roland Mueller, and midfielder Jerry Lucena have also confirmed their participation in the tournament, according to Azkals coach Hans Michael Weiss.

“I think I don’t have a refusal yet,” Weiss told InterAKTV. “Everybody’s ready.”

The Challenge Cup qualifiers, slated from March 22 to March 26, fall on FIFA international match dates, which means that clubs are obliged to release their players called up for national duty during that period.

It was a different scenario during the Azkals’ semifinal run in the ASEAN Football Federation Suzuki Cup last year, when the squad had a hard time securing the services of their players who are based abroad. Schrock, Etheridge and Mueller failed to join the team during that tournament, which was played outside FIFA’s match dates.


But Weiss said he won’t rejoice just yet until the said players are here in the country to train with the team.

“As in the past, we are just celebrating when they are here,” he said.


The Azkals will face Cambodia, Brunei Darussalam and Turkmenistan in the qualifiers to be held at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium.

The winner of the group, as well as the two best second-placed squads in the 20-team qualifiers played across Asia, will advance in the 2014 Challenge Cup in Maldives, where the Azkals aim to surpass their third-place finish in the same tournament last year.

interaksyon