Philippine Azkals' 23-man line-up unveiled

After several weeks of tryouts, the Philippine Azkals unveiled its 23-man lineup for the FIFA World Cup qualifier against Sri Lanka.

According to Soccercentral.ph, those in the National team are:

1. Neil Etheridge (Goalkeeper)
2. Manuel Ott (Midfielder)
3. Robert Gier (Defender)
4. Angel Aldeguer Guirado (Midfielder)
5. Ray Jonsson (Defender)

6. Jerry Lucena (Midfielder)
7. Stephan Schrock (Defender)
8. Ian Araneta (Striker)
9. Alexander Borromeo (Defender)
10. Emelio Caligdong (Left Wing Midfielder/Forward)

11. Anton del Rosario (Defender)
12. Roel Gener (Defender)
13. Nestorio Margarse (Midfielder)
14. Edward Sacapano (Goalkeeper)
15. Misagh Bahadoran (Striker)

16. James Rochlitz (Midfielder)
17. Nathaniel Burkey (Midfielder)
18. Jason Sabio (Defender)
19. Ricardo Becite (Midfielder)
20. James Younghusband (Right Wing Midfielder)

21. Phil Younghusband (Striker)
22. Paul Mulders (Attacking Midfielder)
23. Dennis Cagara (Defender)

Read more at ABS-CBN

Azkals coach: German camp a good respite from Manila’s distractions

Philippine football team coach Michael Weiss is looking forward to putting the Azkals in a tighter leash when they undergo a two-week camp in Germany starting Monday.

“We will not put them into prison, but we will have control over them,” Weiss said Tuesday night before leaving for Germany to make the necessary preparations for the camp in Duren, a city near the Dutch border three hours away from Frankfurt.

“We need to control if we want to get to the next level. They can’t do strange stuff in Germany. They are young players, and there will always be temptations in a city like Manila.”

Weiss earlier rued the lack of focus of the team in Manila, where several players have been pre-occupied with a myriad of non-football related activities.

But Weiss believes his team’s mindset is where it should be now three weeks before the 2014 Fifa World Cup Qualifying first round match against Sri Lanka.

Weiss said the training in Germany would be enough to address chinks in the Azkals’ armor that were exposed in the 3-4 exhibition loss to a United Football League side last Sunday.

“There’s no reason to make a drama out of it,” he said, referring to the loss. “We know we have a long way to go.”

Read more at Philippine Daily Inquirer

Azkals assure fans of better play when they meet Sri Lanka

The men’s national football team has reassured fans of better performance against Sri Lanka in the World Cup Qualifiers on June 29 and July 3 after losing to the United Football League select team Sunday.

“Even if it was just an exhibition match, we can only learn from the loss and look to get better," Azkals team captain Aly Borromeo said in a tweet Monday.

Co-captain Chieffy Caligdong also said on Twitter, “To all AZKALS supporters, it was just a friendly game. In life, we may experience failures, and disappointments but it makes us stronger."

Goalkeeper Neil Etheridge was quick to move on. “Can't dwell on the past now," he said in his tweet.

It was the Azkals’ first time to compete with most of their half-Filipino members in play since their series win against Mongolia in February and March. They had an exhibition match in Iloilo last May 24, but without some of their key players.

Read more at GMA News

Reality check: UFL side stuns Azkals

A friendly match against hastily formed UFL All-Star team turned out to be a cold reality check for the Philippine Azkals.

An injury-time goal by Sudanese striker Izo El-Habbib lifted the All-Stars to a thrilling 4-3 upset over the Azkals on Sunday night in a friendly match played before a crowd of 10,000 at the University of Makati pitch.

The Azkals, after taking the lead through Chieffy Caligdong’s 10th minute opener, needed to muster two equalizing goals until El-Habbib, who plays for Global Smartmatic, struck a thunderous shot from a tight angle to break the nationals’ hearts.

Eric Dagroh, Kaya Cignal’s Ivorian striker, scored twice and Mark Hartmann, the prolific Fil-British attacker for the Loyola Meralco Sparks, added another goal for the UFL All-Stars, who thoroughly exposed gaps on the Azkals defense.

“I’m a little disappointed,” said Azkals coach Michael Weiss. “Its an indication that we have to improve. We lost a match that we shouldn’t have lost.”

The Azkals are preparing for the 2014 Fifa World Cup Qualifying first-round home-and-away against Sri Lanka on June 29 and July 3.

Read more at Philippine Daily Inquirer