WITH seven key defensive players unavailable, the Philippine Azkals will be vulnerable when they open their campaign today against Yemen in Group B of the third round of the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers at the MFF Football Center in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
Comebacking coach Thomas Dooley labeled the Azkals the underdogs in their clash with the Yemenis at 12:30 p.m. in the Mongolian capital, the first step in their bid to qualify for next year’s Asian Cup supposed to be held in China.
Citing their strict “zero” COVID-19 policy, Chinese football authorities announced last month that they are withdrawing as host of the continental football showcase in the middle of 2023.
Dooley, the architect of the Azkals’ Asian Cup debut in 2019 in the United Arab Emirates, rued the absence of defensive mainstays Ralph Obermaier, Patrick Strauss, Michael Kempter, Carli de Murga, Kevin Ingreso, Amani Aguinaldo, and Diego Bardanca.
Also missing action at least for today is celebrated Fil-German striker Gerrit Holman, who has a commitment with his German Bundesliga club VFL Bochum. He will finally make his national team debut against Palestine on Friday.
“What a bummer! It has never happened before. (But) giving up is not an option,” said the former US World Cup skipper in his recent Facebook page of his and the team’s determination not to be discouraged in the face of their severe manpower handicap.
Giving the team a sense of stability is the return of veteran Fil-British goalkeeper Neil Etheridge, who was also named the team captain for the group competition that also includes host Mongolia and Palestine.
Prolific naturalized forward Bienvenido Maranon is expected to add teeth to the Azkals’ offense while defender Simone Rota, the oldest player at 37, is expected to be the linchpin in the back row.
Also playing upfront are familar Dooley players OJ Porteria and Mark Hartmann while siblings Manny and Mike Ott are major partners once again in midfield that will be missing Stephan Shrock, who has had personal differences with Dooley in the past and was left out of the squad.
