3 key Azkals Players to miss KL friendly

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Azkals will likely miss three key starters when they play the Malaysian Tigers in a Fifa international friendly on June 1 in Kuala Lumpur.

Phil Younghusband, the Golden Boot awardee of the last AFC Challenge Cup, said he and his brother James will not be available against the Tigers due to a previous commitment.

Keeper Neil Etheridge will also sit out to serve a one-game suspension belatedly slapped by the AFC for his action in the Azkals’ third place match against Palestine in the Challenge Cup in Nepal.

“James and I won’t be able to play against Malaysia because we had a commitment we could not get out of,” said Phil during the recent launch of the Chelsea Soccer School Philippines, a joint undertaking of Chelsea FC and The Younghusband Football Academy.

“But we’ll be playing against Indonesia and Guam,” he assured, referring to two friendlies succeeding the Malaysia fixture, on June 5 against Indonesia at Rizal Memorial and on June 12 against Guam at Panaad Stadium in Bacolod.

Etheridge was penalized by the AFC disciplinary committee last month for “violating” Article 57 of the Disciplinary Code during the Azkals’ March 19 match against Palestine and slapped a $3,000 fine. The article stipulates that “Anyone who insults someone in any way, especially by using offensive gestures or language, or who violates the principles of fair play or whose behavior is unsporting in any other way may be subject to sanctions...”

The AFC did not specify what Etheridge did that merited the punishment. The Fil-British actually sat out that game as penalty for getting a red card during Phl XI’s previous outing against Turkmenistan in the semis of the same tourney so his alleged misconduct might have happened on the sidelines of that Palestine fixture.

“The friendly game against Malaysia is an AFC-sanctioned match and therefore, Etheridge should serve his suspension on that match,” said Azkals team coordinator Ace Bright.

The Azkals will hold a local training camp in San Carlos and Bacolod on May 21-28 to crank up their preparations for the three friendlies.

My say: We all know that the James and Phil Younghusbands are not only some dude with cute face neither the rest of the Azkals team. The Younghusbands and Neil are key players of Azkals that have already proven their worth. But let's not loose hope since the team still has a lot of great players and they will sure do their best to win the friendly game in Kuala Lumpur against the Malaysian Tigers on June 1. So let's show them our support and cheer them up kaholeros.

Malaysia, India invited vs Azkals in a friendly game and I think that the Azkals team will surely benefit from friendly matches because it will help them a lot in improving their skills.

Azkals face Guam in Panaad

MANILA, Philippines — Returning to the site of one their biggest victories, the Philippine Azkals will take on Guam on June 12 at the Panaad Stadium in Bacolod City.

A match against Bahrain’s Under-22 team was initially considered before the Philippine Football Federation decided on inviting Guam, which is positioned near the bottom of the Fifa rankings.

The game caps a three-match swing for the Azkals in June that starts with a game against Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur on June 1 and a date with Indonesia at the Rizal Memorial Stadium four days later.

The Azkals last played in Panaad in February last year when they defeated Mongolia, 2-0, in their AFC Challenge Cup Pre-qualifying match. The national team also won against Timor Leste, 7-0, in the AFF Championship five years ago in Bacolod in one of the country’s most convincing wins in history.

“We wanted to play against Bahrain Under-22 but it was also important for us to get Fifa ranking points and that can only happen if we play senior teams,” said Azkals manager Dan Palami.

“The team is delighted at the prospect of playing again in Bacolod where support for the Azkals has also been overwhelming.”
In preparation for the friendly matches, Azkals coach Michael Weiss said the team will be undergoing a week-long training camp in San Carlos City, Negros Occidental starting May 21.

With the United Football League heading into the homestretch, Weiss said he thought it was better to leave his UFL players with their clubs as of the moment.

But the German vowed to send a “very competitive” team for the three matches.

The team, Weiss said, could actually include several new players as he plans to invite more local-based standouts, particularly Green Archers Globe goalkeeper Patrick Deyto.

Source: inquirer.net

My say: This will be another stepping stone for the Philippine football team Azkals. Hope they will able to show how good they are in the fields compare to last year... Goodluck guys and we will closely watching you... Show Guam that Azkals is not an easy team to beat.