Azkals Gear Up For Bangkok Tourney

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Azkals want to build on the success of their title victory in the recent Philippine Football Peace Cup as they head into the final stage of preparations for the AFF Suzuki Cup set for November in Bangkok, Thailand.

Coach Michael Weiss hopes that positive vibes earned from the four-nation tournament will be carried into the next eight weeks when the Azkals hold a training camp and play friendlies before the Suzuki Cup.

“We are now entering the final phase of our preparation for the Suzuki Cup and those matches will see much, much better competition and stronger opponents so it's important that have many matches and that's the main purpose of playing this tournament,” Weiss said after the Azkals defeated Taiwan, 3-1, on Saturday to claim the Peace Cup title.

Lined up for the Azkals is a training camp in the Middle East which will be highlighted by friendly matches with Bahrain on Oct. 12 in Manama and Kuwait on Oct. 16 in Kuwait City.

They will also play Singapore on Nov. 15 in Cebu City in a rematch of the Filipinos' 2-0 win in the Lion City two weeks ago thanks to an opening goal by Chieffy Caligdong.

From there it's off to the Thai capital for the Suzuki Cup group stage where the Azkals battle the hosts, Vietnam and the top team of the qualifying round. The two top teams in the group will make it to the semifinals.

The team's buildup and sharpness will also be determined on the availability of key players for the Suzuki Cup.

Absent from the Peace Cup were ace goalkeeper Neil Etheridge and Stephan Schrock, among others, due to commitments with their clubs in Europe, and brothers Phil and James Younghusband due to differences with Azkals management and the Philippine Football Federation over monetary and commitment issues.

source: http://mb.com.ph/