For the first time since the 2016 AFF Suzuki Cup hosted on Philippine soil, coach Thomas Dooley and talisman Stephan Schrock will work together to help the Philippine Azkals bring glory to the country.
In an announcement Friday evening, the management team behind the Azkals named the 30 players who comprise the pool that will try to seal qualification to the 2023 AFC Asian Cup. The final round of qualifiers takes place in Mongolia from June 8-14, 2022.
Aside from Schrock, other big names in the lineup include Birmingham City goalkeeper Neil Etheridge, J2 League defender Jefferson Tabinas, Bundesliga standout Gerrit Holtmann, and Johor Darul Ta’zim FC duo Bienvenido Marañon and Carli de Murga.
Anthony Pinthus, Kevin Ray Hansen, and Quincy Kammeraad are the other goalkeepers in the squad. Amani Aguinaldo, Diego Bardanca, Daisuke Sato, Miguel Mendoza, Jaime Rosquillo, and Matthew Nierras will compete for a spot in the backline.
In the midfield, Dennis Villanueva, Oskari Kekkonen, Mike and Manuel Ott, Jesse Curran, OJ Porteria, Patrick Reichelt, Sandro Reyes, Dylan De Bruycker, Oliver Bias, and Dennis Chung are looking to impress Dooley.
Looking to score the goals for the team in the attack are Mark Hartmann, Ivan Ouano, Jhan-Jhan Melliza, and. Kenshiro Daniels,
The Azkals look to complete the business against the likes of Yemen, Mongolia, and Palestine in Group B. A first-place finish will guarantee a spot in the big dance. Meanwhile, finishing in second place means the Azkals need to be in the top five of that mini-league table to make it to the competition proper.
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