Top guns return as Azkals face Turkmen in friendly

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Azkals have called up the big guns, led by local-based Phil Younghusband and Stephan Schrock and overseas-based Neil Etheridge and Javier Patino, as they gear up against Turkmenistan in their Sept. 2 friendly in Bulacan.

Younghusband and Schrock suit up again after missing the Pinoy booters’ last two outings in the second round of the Fifa World Cup Qualifiers, joining fellow United Football League campaigners Amani Aguinaldo, Misagh Bahadoran, Manny Ott, Simone Rota, Martin Steuble, Roland Muller and Patrick Reichelt in the fold.

Etheridge and Patino, along with Iain Ramsay, Luke Woodland, Daisuke Sato, and Stephan Palla received their call-up and are expected to fly in for the home friendly set at the Philippine Sports Stadium in Bocaue.

Local-based Kenshiro Daniels, Patrick Deyto, Daniel Gadia, Kevin Ingreso, Miguel Tanton, Dennis Villanueva, James Younghusband and Kaya defender Junior Muñoz complete the 23-man roster tapped by coach Thomas Dooley.

The Azkals, who will gun for a breakthrough finals appearance in the Asean Football Federation Suzuki Cup in November, last played in Ilocos Sur but paraded a depleted lineup, dropping a 0-2 decision to A-league side Perth Glory last month.

Their buildup for the Suzuki Cup shifts to high gear with a tough match-up against the 119th-ranked Turkmenistan.

The Turkmen are familiar opponents for the Pinoys, having faced them off in the last two editions of the defunct Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Challenge Cup. In 2012, Turkmenistan beat the Philippines in the semifinals, 2-1, then the Filipinos got back with a 2-0 verdict two years later in the group stage.