Philippine Azkals take on Malaysia in friendly
AS PART of its preparation for the AFC Asian Cup qualifier which begins next week, the Philippine men’s national football team, or “Azkals,” plays Malaysia in a friendly today at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium.
Set to take place at 7:30 p.m., the Azkals, ranked 124th in the world, take on Malaysia (161st) as they wind up prep-up work before plunging into action in the Asian Cup.
Called up for the international friendly match are Amani Aguinaldo, Fitch Arboleda, Misagh Bahadoran, Jeffrey Christiaens, Kenshiro Daniels, Carli De Murga, Patrick Deyto, Neil Etheridge, Kevin Ingreso, Hikaru Minegishi, Roland Muller, Junior Munoz, Manny Ott, Mike Ott, Javier Patino, OJ Porteria, Iain Ramsay, Daisuke Sato, Martin Steuble, Dennis Villanueva, Luke Woodland, James Younghusband and Phil Younghusband.
The Philippines and Malaysia enter the friendly off failed campaigns in the 2016 AFF Suzuki Cup that saw them exit earlier than hoped.
The Azkals are bracketed in Group F in the Asian Cup qualifier, along with Tajikistan, Yemen and Nepal.
Of the four teams in the group, the Philippines has the highest FIFA ranking right now, with Tajikistan at 133, Yemen at 148 and Nepal at 170.
Given the group that the Philippines is part of, one football analyst sees the Azkals’ bid to advance to the next round of the marquee continental football event as “doable.”
“Overall it could have been worse. It could have been better. But I think it’s a doable group for the Azkals,” said Ryan Fenix, resident football analyst of interaksyon.com and author of the column “Rampaging Fullback,” in an earlier interview with Business World.
He went on to say that it is important for the Azkals to have a good showing in the Asian Cup qualifier to reignite the interest of local football fans after falling short in recent tournaments they have competed in, most recent was the Suzuki Cup.
“After the defeat in the Suzuki Cup, it’s 100% important for the Azkals to qualify for the Asian Cup, not just to rescue football in the Philippines but to revive the sport that is really struggling now in terms of popular appeal,” he said.
“Football is no longer in the consciousness of many people here because of bad results and it’s important to join this tournament to cap off a good run of seven years for a country which has rediscovered football. We have to join the big parties like the Asian Cup. And as the no. 1 team in Southeast Asia for the longest time, we have to back it up by being in the Asian Cup,” Mr. Fenix added.
The Azkals begin their Asian Cup qualifier campaign against Nepal on March 28 also at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium.
Tickets for the Azkals matches are available at SM Ticket outlets and at the gate. —