MANILA, Philippines -- A day after arriving from Mongolia, the Philippine Azkals immediately resumed training for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Challenge Cup group stage competition.
The team held their practice at the University of Makati.
The Azkals will be leaving on Saturday for Myanmar where the group stage competition will take place.
Filipino-British striker Phil Younghusband will not be able to join the team because of a hamstring injury.
“Meron akong hamstring sa tear sa likod ng hita. Sobrang disappointed ako, sobrang malungkot ako [dahil] sa hindi pwedeng maglaro sa Myanmar,” said Younghusband.
He needs to undergo a 3-week therapy before he can join the team again.
Missing Younghusband
His team mate, Simon Greatwich, said the Azkals will sorely miss Younghusband’s presence in the games.
“It (injury) definitely has a major impact on the team because he's one of our most attacking threats in his ability to score goals,” said Greatwich.
But Azkals coach Hans Michael Weiss is confident that the team will make it to the Top 2 of the group stage because of the team’s latest additions.
Joining the team are Filipino-Spanish striker Angel Aldeguer, Filipino-Danish Jerry Lucena, and Filipino-Germans William Espinosa Guerridon and Patrick Hinrichsen.
The Philippines goes up against Myanmar on Monday, Palestine on Wednesday, and Bangladesh on Friday.
The Myanmar White Angels are currently ranked No. 161 in FIFA’s world standings.
The Bangladesh Bengal Tigers are ranked No. 174, while Palestine’s Al-Fusan (The Fighters) are ranked 178th.
The Philippines, ranked No. 151, has the highest ranking in their group bracket.
The Azkals need to win 2 of their 3 matches to enter the main draw of the AFC Challenge Cup in 2012.
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