INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — With one confirmed international friendly match and a couple of training camps coming up in the next two months, the Philippines’ buildup for the AFC Challenge Cup is right on track as far as manager Dan Palami is concerned.
The International Football Federation (FIFA) has already confirmed the Azkals’ friendly match against Nepal on April 11 in Doha, Qatar, where the team will spend a week of training under coach Thomas Dooley.
The German-American mentor has made do of twice a week training sessions with the team in Manila since arriving last month.
But with another camp scheduled in Bahrain just a week before the Challenge Cup, Palami is confident the squad will be in top form in the Maldives.
“I think we are right on track [with our preparations],” said Palami.
“What’s important now is that all stakeholders of the sport share the same goal which is to win the Challenge Cup and have the Philippines qualify for the Asian Cup in Australia for the first time next year.”
The Azkals have yet to win in two matches under Dooley, but they pulled off a couple of creditable performances against Malaysia and Azerbaijan which showcased a developing system of play that was almost non-existent in previous years.
“The improvement has been remarkable in such a short span of time,” said Palami.
“I would like to imagine that the more time the team has together, it will augur well for us in the Challenge Cup in May.”