MANILA – Neil Etheridge and Stephan Schröck will banner the 25-man Philippine Azkals pool that went to Doha, Qatar to prepare for the joint FIFA World Cup and AFC Asian Cup qualifiers in Suzhou, China next month.
According to Azkals head coach Scott Cooper, United City Football Club midfielder Schröck will be the squad’s team captain with Birmingham FC goalkeeper Etheridge as vice-captain.
Carlos De Murga, Alvaro Silva, Luke Woodland, Martin Steuble, Patrick Strauss, Iain Ramsay, Patrick Reichelt, Mark Hartmann, Angel Guirado, Jarvey Gayoso, and Mar Diano are also returning to the Azkals.
Others who got a call up were Bernd Schipman, Kevin Ray Mendoza, Jesper Nyholm, Jefferson Tabinas, Niko De Vera, Michael Kempter, Lloyd Fagerlie, Mark Winhoffer, Matthew Baldisimo, Oliver Bias, Raphael Obenmair, and Gerrit Holtman.
Cooper is confident that the national men’s football team is capable of weeping their remaining matches against Guam on June 3; China on June 9; and the Maldives on June 15.
“We don’t have excuses,” said Cooper. “We have the time in Doha. We’ve already beaten Maldives and Guam away from home, we’ve tied with China here. It’s up to us and the staff to raise the bar. That’s what we are hoping to do with this national team.”
He also looks forward to facing China in the upcoming window as both teams want to secure the second spot in Group A and a place in the third round of the World Cup qualifiers.
The Azkals, meanwhile, ranked third in the group with seven points on two wins, two losses, and a draw. China, on the other hand, is in second place with seven points on two wins, one draw, and a loss.
“This would be the fifth time we play China in about three years. There’s an 8-nil, 3-nil in the Asian Cup, 2-nil in China, nil-nil in Bacolod. We are progressively showing that we are doing okay,” Cooper said.
“But at the same time, they are preparing now a few months earlier. I know there are stories about naturalizing Brazilian players. We’ll wait and see on that. We are eagerly waiting for everybody’s squad to come out,” he added./PN
