National football squad plays HK friendly minus key players

The Philippine men’s football team won’t be having some of its key players from the previous window for Thursday’s friendly with host Hong Kong, the squad’s final match before it dives into Asean Mitsubishi Electric Cup duties.

Zico Bailey, a key figure in last month’s King’s Cup campaign held in Thailand, Sebastian Rasmussen, Dylan Demuynck and Joshua Grommen won’t be available for the 8 p.m. match which coach Albert Capellas will use as gauge ahead of the prestigious regional competition.

Bailey recently played for New Mexico United in USL Championship playoffs, Rasmussen and Demuynck are dealing with hamstring issues while Grommen has personal issues in Australia, according to Philippine Football Federation director for senior national teams Freddy Gonzalez.

But a chunk of the core of the team that ended a 10-match winless streak against Tajikistan in the same King’s Cup are back, as striker Gerrit Holtmann of German Bundesliga side VfL Bochum, brothers Jefferson and Paul Tabinas and former Atletico Madrid youth player Santi Rublico expected to see action.

“I think that with the team we have, we can challenge everyone in the Asean region. All are good teams, but we’re a good team as well. It’s just a matter of being 100 percent ready,” said Gonzalez.

The national team, formerly known as the Azkals, was drawn in Group B of the Mitsubishi Electric Cup with Indonesia, Vietnam, Myanmar and Laos, and is aiming to secure a semifinals berth in the tournament for the first time since 2018.

Other players

The Philippines will open the Asean tilt against Myanmar on Dec. 12 at home, Laos on Dec. 15 in Vientiane, Vietnam on Dec. 18 at home and Indonesia on Dec. 21 in Jakarta.

Other players that were named on Capellas’ 23-man squad are Jesse Curran, Patrick Strauss, Jax Pena, Audie Menzi, Kevin Ray Mendoza, Patrick Deyto, Quincy Kammeraad, Amani Aguinaldo, Michael Kempter, Kike Linares and Scott Woods.

Veterans Manny Ott and Patrick Reichelt, Sandro Reyes, Christian Rontini, Uriel Dalapo, Bjorn Kristensen and Alex Monis of Major League Soccer’s New England Revolution round up the Philippine roster.

Meanwhile, the PFF announced that a second friendly with Sri Lanka which was to be played supposedly at Rizal Memorial Stadium on Tuesday has been canceled due to financial problems that prevented the latter from coming over to Manila. —By Jonas Terrado