U-23 Azkals gun for 3 points against team of Timor-Leste

THE Philippine Below-23 (U-23) squad units out to offer the Filipino contingent within the 31^st Southeast Asian Video games (SEAG) in Vietnam a powerful begin because it plunges into early motion in opposition to Timor-Leste on Friday within the males’s soccer kickoff.

The U-23 Azkals gun for the total three factors versus the Timorese within the 4 p.m. Group A matchup on the Viet Tri Stadium in Phu Tho Province (5 p.m. in Manila).

“We’ll go for the win,” mentioned Philippine coach Norman Fegidero, who has tapped Azkals skipper Stephan Schrock as one of many “overaged” reinforcements of his squad.

The Pinoy booters are decided to succeed in the semifinals for the primary time since Mr. Fegidero’s time as a participant in the course of the 1991 SEA Video games in Manila.

However the present batch faces an uphill battle in what’s largely thought of a “Group of Demise.”

Except for Timor, a semifinalist within the 2022 AFF U-23 Championship held final February in Cambodia, the Filipinos additionally need to take care of defending champion Vietnam (Might 8), 2019 bronze medalist Myanmar (Might 10), and Manila version runner-up Indonesia (Might 13).

The target is to complete within the Prime 2 of this bracket to qualify for the Ultimate 4.

“We’re taking it one recreation at a time,” mentioned Mr. Fegidero, remembered because the hero of the Philippines’ well-known 1-0 upset of Malaysia in 1991.

“I imagine in my gamers. They’ve the flexibility to upset the robust groups in our group,” he added.

The U-23 Azkals’ core competed within the Philippines Soccer League and held a coaching camp in Malaysia to arrange for the SEAG.

“That is my second time within the SEA Video games (after 2019) and I can say this staff is extra ready than the final time. I’m very assured within the means of the gamers and I’m wanting ahead to creating historical past with the U-23,” mentioned Mr. Schrock.

The Philippines has but to win a gold in soccer and did not get previous the group stage in 2019 on dwelling floor.

The Worldwide Federation of Affiliation Soccer (FIFA) Ladies’s World Cup-bound Filipinas, in the meantime, hit the sphere on Might 9 but within the Group A opener of the distaff aspect over on the Cam Pha Stadium. The Filipinas wish to experience the momentum of their historic semifinal entry within the AFC Ladies’s Asian Cup final January as they aim the breakthrough mint after inserting fourth at dwelling. — Olmin Leyba