TOP Fil-German striker Gerrit Holtmann will be back to reinforce the Philippine men’s football team in its pivotal AFC Asian Cup Group A qualifying match against crack Tajikistan on June 10 at the New Clark City Athletic Stadium in Capas, Tarlac.
Holtmann, who now plays for the German Bundesliga team, VfL Bochum, plus another forward, Fil-German rookie Andrei Lepold, were among the 23 players called up by the Philippine Football Federation, which announced the roster on its website yesterday.
The charges of Spanish coach Albert Cappellas will go for their second straight win at the same arena after trouncing the Maldives 4-1 in their opening match last March for a spot in the AFC Asian Cup set to kick off in January 2027 in Saudi Arabia.
Also returning are midfielders Randy Schneider and Sandro Reyes, solid defenders, siblings Paul and Jeff Tabinas, Santi Rublico, Bjorn Kristensen, Zico Bailey and Josef Baccay.
Providing the experience are goalie Kevin Mendoza, defender Amani Aguinaldo and striker Jarvey Gayoso, who are all tried and tested veterans who provide stability to the PH squad.
“Tajikistan made the quarterfinals of the last Asian Cup. The Tajiks are the top seed in our group for a reason. But if we want to achieve our goal of qualification, these are the type of games we need to savor,” national team manager Freddy Gonzalez stressed.
“We believe in the quality we have in our team and with the supporters behind us, we have the opportunity to achieve something special at home,” he added.
The other team members are goalkeepers Quincy Kammeraad and Nicholas Guimaraes, defenders Collado Villalba, Jesper Nyholm, Adrian Ugelvik, midfielders John Lucero, Christian Rontini, Oskari Kekkonen, and strikers Dov Cariño, Dylan Demuynck and Bjorn Kristensen.
