AZKALS ROSTER VS. YEMEN TEAM ANNOUNCED
Familiar faces are in list: Phil, James Younghusband, star goalkeeper Neil Etheridge, among others
The Philippine Football Federation (PFF) has announced the 23-man Azkals roster that will be competing against Yemen in a Group F match of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup UAE 2019 qualifiers on Sept. 5 at the Pana-ad Park and Football Stadium in Bacolod City.
Some familiar faces are back, while others are gone. There are also some new players that have been called up to represent flag and country.
The Azkals veterans that will once again suit up for this match are brothers Phil and James Younghusband, star goalkeeper Neil Etheridge, Misagh Bahador- an, Paul Mulders, Carly de Murga, Simone Rota, Manny Ott and Patrick Reichelt.
Also returning are Patrick Deyto, Hikaru Minegishi, Dennis Villanueva, Kevin Ingreso, Junior Muñoz, Iain Ramsay, Luke Woodland, Mike Ott and Stephan Palla.
Some of the new faces in the squad are Philippines Under-22 players Dylan De Bruycker and Joshua Grommen, 19-year-old Harry Föll and Tyler Matas.
The Azkals, however, will miss some veterans and key players like Stephan Schröck, who apparently retired from international competition, his Ce- res Negros FC teammates Martin Steuble and Jeffrey Christiaens.
Striker Javier Patiño, central defender Amani Aguinaldo, defender Kenshiro Daniels and Camelo Tacusalme are all out due to injuries. Daisuke Sato, meantime, isn’t allowed to play after getting a suspension due to two yellow cards.
The Azkals is mentored by head coach Thomas Dooley along with assistant coaches Kurt Kowarz and Chieffy Caligdong.
The Philippines sits at the top of Group F with six points, followed by Yemen with four points, Nepal at third with a point and at the bottom is Takikistan with no point. /