Fil-German keeper returns for World Cup eliminations

MANILA, Philippines - Fil-German keeper Roland Muller, who played a key role in the Azkals’ runner-up finish in the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup, will return to the fold for the Philippine booters’ next assignment in the Fifa World Cup qualifiers.

Absent during the first two matches of the qualifiers due to club commitment, Muller has been called up, along with veteran Paul Mulders and young custodian Jun-jun Badelic to join the holdovers from the Azkals side that nipped Bahrain (2-1) and Yemen (2-0) at the start of Group H action.

The trio took the place of injured defender Rob Gier, goalkeeper Tomas Trigo and striker Mark Hartmann in the 23-man pool assembled by coach Thomas Dooley for the Sept. 8 fixture against Uzbekistan at the Philippine Sports Stadium. 

The Pinoy booters will get together for training camp starting Aug. 31 and will play an international friendly against Maldives slated Sept. 3 at Rizal Memorial.

Also back for another tour of duty are Amani Aguinaldo, Misagh Bahadoran, Kenshiro Daniels, Patrick Deyto, Neil Etheridge, Juani Guirado, Kevin Ingreso, Jerry Lucena, Manny Ott, Stephan Palla, Javier Patiño, Iain Ramsay, Patrick Reichelt, Simone Rota, Daisuke Sato, Stephan Schrock, Martin Steuble, Dennis Villanueva, Luke Woodland, and skipper Phil Younghusband.

Fil-Dutch Mulders, currently with Ceres-La Salle FC, previously donned the Azkals’ jersey in the 2014 Asean Football Federation Suzuki Cup. Global FC’s Badelic, meanwhile, played for the Phl Under-23 team in the Southeast Asian Games and beat the likes of Patrick Deyto and Trigo, both part of the WCQ’s June outings, for a spot in the team.

Tickets for the Azkals vs Uzbekistan game are now available at www.ticketworld.com.ph. Tickets are at P531.80 for Price Zone 1, P331.14 for Price Zone 2 and P125.40 for Price Zone 3.