Azkals begin AFC Asian Cup qualifier campaign
A NEW journey begins for the Philippine national men’s football team today as it sails for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualifier with a home game at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium.
Set for 8 p.m., the 124th-ranked Philippine Azkals take on Nepal ( 170) in their opener in Group F of the six- group tournament phase, which is a springboard for the quadrennial international men’s football championship of Asia in 2019 to be held in the United Arab Emirates.
The Azkals are angling to end up at least in the top two of their group to advance.
Joining the Philippines and Nepal in Group F are Tajikistan ( 133) and Yemen ( 148). All the competing teams do battle in home- and- away round- robin matches until March of next year.
Looking at the Azkals’ grouping, football analyst Ryan Fenix said he likes the Philippines’ chances of advancing to the Asian Cup, which will feature the top 24 teams in the region.
“Like what I’ve said before, it is still a very doable group for the Azkals, nothing has changed. With the quality we have, we have all the chance to qualify for the 2019 Asian Cup,” said Mr. Fenix, resident football analyst of interaksyon. and author of the column “Rampaging Fullback,” in an interview with BusinessWorld.
For the task at hand, the Philippine team will be at “full strength” with some of the players who missed previous Azkals engagements for one reason or another back in harness, including top goalkeeper Neil Etheridge and defender Daisuke Sato.
With Messrs. Etheridge and Sato in the roster are Amani Aguinaldo, Fitch Arboleda, Misagh Bahadoran, Jeffrey Christiaens, Kenshiro Daniels, Carli De Murga, Patrick Deyto, Kevin Ingreso, Hikaru Minegishi, Junior Muñoz, Nick O’Donnell, Manny Ott, Mike Ott, Javier Patino, OJ Porteria, Iain Ramsay, Antonio Ugarte, Dennis Villanueva, Luke Woodland, James Younghusband and Phil Younghusband.
“Azkals Coach Thomas Dooley finally has a full-strength squad at his disposal, and his team selection is very different from the one we saw in the disastrous 2016 Suzuki Cup played at home soil,” said Mr. Fenix, referring to the Philippines’ campaign in the Southeast Asian tournament last year that the country hosted, where the Azkals exited earlier than seen.
NEPAL GAME
Zeroing in on the game against Nepal, which the Philippines has dominated a number of times in the past, Mr. Fenix said it is important that the Azkals come up with a win to set their campaign to a good start while highlighting the play of stalwarts Phil Younghusband and Manny Ott as telling to their team’s bid.
“Certainly the Azkals must win the first game at home against Nepal. Dooley has reinstated Phil YH ( Younghusband) as the striker with Javier Patino, so it will be interesting to see if Phil can return to scoring ways,” said the analyst, who also writes for ESPN FC.
“Given the keys to the Azkals’ midfield, Ott should be the focal point of the Azkals assault. If he gets going, look for the Azkals to roll,” Mr. Fenix added.
Tickets for the Azkals match against Nepal are available at SM Ticket outlets and at the gate for P500, P300 and P100.