Azkals. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
The Philippine Azkals arrived in the Maldives Saturday with manager Dan Palami declaring the squad’s readiness to take on the daunting task of winning the country’s first major football title in the AFC Challenge Cup starting Monday.
The Azkals won’t be in action until Tuesday when they face Afghanistan in Group B in Addu City in Gan Island, and Palami said coach Thomas Dooley has done enough to prepare the Filipinos for battle.
“It is a challenge for us, and we are ready to take it on,” Palami said.
The Azkals are also bracketed with Laos and 2012 losing finalist Turkmenistan, which has been tipped as the favorite in this year’s tournament.
Laos will meet the Philippines on Thursday with Turkmenistan testing the Azkals in their last Group B match on Saturday in Male.
“It doesn’t really matter now, they are all good teams,” he said. “We’re prepared to play five matches including the semifinal and the final.”
More than the major trophy, the Azkals are also motivated by the thought of mixing it up with the top teams of the continent in the AFC Asian Cup in Australia next year.
The champion of the Challenge Cup will gain the last spot in the 16-team Asian Cup.
“As it (the Challenge Cup) draws nearer, the day of reckoning comes so we have to face reality and there will be no time for us to say ‘we wish we could have done it differently,’” said Palami in the Azkals’ official website.