Azkals face Papua New Guinea XI

FILE PHOTO

TRYING to make the most out of the international window, the Philippines steps up its buildup for the AFF Suzuki Cup when it clashes with Papua New Guinea in a friendly at Rizal Memorial Stadium tonight.

The 8 p.m. showdown marks the first meeting between the two countries with the Azkals hoping to continue their improvement under coach Thomas Dooley.

The Azkals have about five weeks to prepare for the Suzuki Cup with Dooley stressing that the team needs to play more matches together to stand a better chance of winning the regional tournament from Nov. 22 to 28 in Hanoi, Vietnam.

The match against PNG only happened after the opponents of the two teams backed out from their scheduled friendly matches at the last minute. The Azkals were supposed to play Malaysia yesterday before the game was cancelled, while PNG had earlier slated a friendly date with Timor Leste.

“It hasn’t been the ideal preparation for us, but we have to make the most out of our time together,” said Dooley, who can only require clubs to release players for national team duty during the international break.

“We’re still trying to establish a style of play.”

“It’s an important time for us because we are preparing for the Suzuki Cup and we want to try to progress,” said Azkals skipper Rob Gier. “It’s always nice to get to play at home.”

Although they are ranked near the No. 200 mark by Fifa, PNG produced a creditable performance in a 1-2 loss to Singapore last month. It was the first international match played by the team in two years.

And Dooley said they can’t expect the match to be a walk in the park.

“We have to take this match seriously and must be willing to work hard,” said Dooley, whose team is coming off a 2-3 loss to Myanmar in the Peace Cup last month. “PNG is a fast, technically good and organized team.”

Like the Azkals, the PNG Kapuls are also using the game to build up for their next major international tournament, the Pacific Games, next year.