Stephan Schrock—THE AZKALS PHOTO
The Philippine Azkals mark their official return on the international stage, albeit on a different setting, on Thursday when they play two matches in the opener of the Asia 7s Championship in Elmina, Malaysia.
National team legend Stephan Schrock is set to spearhead the Azkals’ quest to begin their title bid on the right track at EV Arena, where they play Hong Kong at 6 p.m. and host Malaysia at 10 p.m.
Schrock and the Azkals are in Group B that also includes India, which the Philippines will play on Friday to wrap up the classification stage.
Japan, which won the inaugural staging last year in Taguig City, is in Group A with Brunei, Singapore and Vietnam.
No team will be eliminated after the initial phase, so the Azkals will have to win as many games as possible in order to have a better pairing come the quarterfinals.
Smaller pitch
The tournament is a 7-a-side format, meaning that each team will field seven players on a smaller pitch, compared to the standard football game.
It will be the first tournament for the new incarnation of the Azkals, the former moniker of the men’s national team during the time Dan Palami held the role of team manager.
The Philippine Football Federation, which is under new management, decided to no longer use the Azkals moniker earlier this year.