WITH barely two weeks before the Philippines meets Bahrain for the 2018 Fifa World Cup Russia-Asian Qualifiers on June 11 at the Philippine Sports Stadium in Bulacan, the Azkals started their camp Monday at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.
Team coordinator Patrick Ace Bright confirmed the start of the training, adding that the Thomas Dooley-mentored squad aims to bring the best of Philippine football to the World Cup.
The return of Azkals’ top Fil-German midfielder Stephan Schrock, Fil-Spanish forward Javier Patiño and Fil-British keeper Neil Etheridge alongside new recruits Germany-based 22-year-old midfielder Kevin Ingreso, 26-year-old Fil-Austrian defender Stephan Palla, 27-year-old Fil-Australian Iain Ramsay, and 19-year-old Fil-British central midfielder Luke Woodland will boost the national’s campaign to secure a spot in the Russia World Cup.
Of the 23 players called up for the Manila camp, four Ceres-La Salle FC mainstays have joined, including the Fil-Spanish defender Juan Luis Guirado, Fil-German midfielders Manny Ott and Patrick Reichelt, and Fil-Swiss Martin Steuble.
Completing the team are Fil-British forwards Phil Younghusband and Mark Hartmann; midfielders Dennis Villanueva, Misagh Bahadoran, Kenshiro Michael Daniels and Jerry Lucena; defenders Amani Manuel Aguinaldo, Robert James Gier, Simone Rota, and Daisuke Sato; and keepers Patrick Deyto and Tomas Trigo.
Tickets for the Philippines-Bahrain match is available at via TicketWorld thru its online booking at P531.80 (CAT 1), P331.40 (CAT 2), P125.40 (CAT 3), and P331.40 (inclusion a round trip bus ticket).
After Bahrain, the Philippine Azkals will meet Yemen on June 16 at the Qatar Sports Club in Doha, Qatar.
Aside from the World Cup spot, the Azkals are also looking forward to earn a berth in the Asian Football Confederation Asian Cup UAE 2019 Qualifiers (Round 2).(HGD)