Azkals set to field strongest lineup

The Philippine Azkals will be fielding its strongest lineup ever when they vie in the Asean Football Federation (AFF) Suzuki Cup 2012.

The Nationals will open against Thailand on Nov. 24 at the Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok.

The Azkals restored football glory in the Philippines when they made the semifinals of the meet’s 2010 edition.

Dan Stephen Palami, Azkals team manager, said that the national team is focusing on its own preparation and concentrating on playing its own brand of football.

“The team is really playing as a “team” right now which is giving us a higher chance of getting into the semifinals,” Palami said. The Philippines is grouped with Thailand, Vietnam and Myanmar in Group A.

He added that if we can advance to the semifinals against Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, we are in a good position because we have had good results against these countries.

Palami, however, said that what they have is “cautious optimism” because anything can happen in football as he shrugged off talks that the team is handicapped without the Younghusbands, saying that it will not matter if some players are missing as long as they continue to play as a team.

Although he admitted that having them in the team is better because a fit Phil Younghusband can create more opportunities for scoring.

He added that unlike before, the team now has a deep bench citing the match against Kuwait wherein Phil Younghusband came off the field and James Younghusband did not play at all. The Philippines lost by just a point, 0-1, against Kuwait.

After allowing the Younghusbands to play in the Singapore Cup, Palami said he hopes they will immediately practice with the team.

The 35-man lineup that the Azkals have released earlier will be further trimmed to 22 for the final lineup which will be submitted during the tournament’s managers’ meeting.

Palami said choosing the 22 is a difficult decision as the options available to the coaches are now wider.

He said that most likely, the Suzuki Cup lineup will be taken from the same lineup playing in the friendly match against Singapore plus players such as Stephen Shrock, whom he said will be given a wildcard entry into the team.

As part of the team’s preparation, Philippine Football Federation technical director Aris Caslib will be scouting friendly matches between Vietnam and Malaysia on Nov. 3 in Hanoi, and Thailand and Malaysia on Nov. 7 in Bangkok.

Also helping in the scouting is Azkals player Rob Gier.

Palami said that aside from being a player, the Azkals management has also hired Gier to do some scouting and game analyzing.