CEDELF TUPAS/INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
The Philippine Azkals climbed 11 spots to No. 129 in the latest Fifa rankings on the strength of its second-place finish in the AFC Challenge Cup in the Maldives.
Winning three of their five matches, the Azkals picked up 217 points for the month to gain ground on Southeast Asia’s best-ranked side Vietnam, which is now at No. 123.
Palestine, which beat the Philippines, 1-0, for the Challenge Cup title and also claimed a spot in the AFC Asian Cup next year, made the biggest jump to No. 94—an astonishing leap of 71 places.
Azkals coach Thomas Dooley said his target is to steer the Azkals into the Top 100 in the rankings.
“The team has a lot of potential and I hope to achieve the ranking while I’m here,” he said.
Meanwhile, a training camp in the United States with friendly matches against the powerhouse Americans and Canada is being planned for the Azkals late this year.
Azkals manager Dan Palami revealed plans to make the friendly matches a fund-raising event for the victims of Supertyphoon “Yolanda” in Leyte.
To make the matches possible, the Azkals will rely on Dooley’s links with the United States national team in which he once served as an assistant to Jurgen Klinsmann.
“We will try to talk to the US coaches after the World Cup to discuss the possibility of holding the match, probably in California,” said Dooley, a former US team skipper.
The Azkals will defend the Philippine Peace Cup in September, before seeing action in the AFF Suzuki Cup in November.