MANILA – Kaya Futbol Club-Iloilo forward Kenshiro Daniels is one of the late additions for the Philippine Azkals ahead of the joint 2022 FIFA World Cup and 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers in Suzhou, China this week.
The 5-foot-9 Daniels was called up by head coach Scott Cooper after Azkals’ initial pool was marred by several withdrawals.
The 26-year-old forward, who scored two goals in five games in the 2020 Philippines Football League season, has 22 international caps under his name during his appearance for the Azkals in October 2018.
Apart from Daniels, the Azkals also called up United City Football Club’s Justin Baas and Mike Ott; and Azkals Development Team goalkeeper Quincy Kammeraad.
Ott suited up for the Azkals in 2019, while Baas saw action for the Philippine Under-22 team in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games.
Kammeraad, a Filipino-Dutch goalie who stands at 1.85 meters, started in goal for the Azkals Developmental Teams during their first two games in the PFL Bubble season in 2020.
“The three players together with Justin Baas arrived in Doha over the weekend for training camp. The team will leave for Shanghai via a Qatar Airways chartered flight on Monday,” the Azkals said.
The four offset the exit of nine original members of the team, including designated vice-captain Neil Etheridge, Patrick Strauss, Niko De Vera, Iain Ramsay, Carlie De Mura, Geritt Holtmann, Lloyd Fagerlie, and Jesper Nyholm, and Raphael Obermair.
The national men’s football team will conclude its second round of qualifiers against Guam on June 3 (3 p.m.), China on June 9 (7:30 p.m.), and the Maldives on June 15 (3 p.m.)./PN
