Azkals 30-man pool to train for Asian Cup Qualifiers

The Philippine Azkals is stocking up with 30 players who will undergo training in preparation for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers scheduled on June 8 to 14 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Azkals management revealed that German Bundesliga standout Gerrit Holtmann as well as veterans Neil Etheridge and Stephan Schrock are to be part of the team that will be coached by Thomas Dooley.

Among the veterans on the list are brothers Mike and Manny Ott, Amani Aguinaldo, OJ Porteria, Patrick Reichelt, Mark Hartmann, Daisuke Sato, Carli de Murga, Dennis Villanueva and Kenshiro Daniels.

Past and present members of the national U-23 squad namely Oliver Bias, Sandro Reyes, Oskari Kekkonen, Anthony Pinthus, Dennis Chung, Ivan Ouano, Jaime Rosquillo, Quincy Kammeraad and Miguel Mendoza were also called to take part in the camp.

Wrapping up the list are naturalized player Bienvenido Maranon, Kevin Hansen, Jefferson Tabinas, Jesse Curran, Jhan-Jhan Melliza and Matthew Nierras.

The list, however, does not represent the Azkals’ final squad for the last phase of the continental qualifiers since some players may end up unavailable for various reasons.

Dooley is back for his second tour of duty as Azkals coach and will be tasked to steer the Philippines to a spot in next year’s Asian Cup.

The Azkals are in Group B with Palestine, Yemen and host Mongolia.