MANILA, Philippines – The original venue for the international friendly between the Philippine Azkals and Bahrain was supposed to be the Philippine Sports Stadium in Bocaue, Bulacan. But that match has been moved to Rizal Memorial Stadium, as the former was under ongoing renovation.
The Philippine Football Federation and Azkals, led by head coach Thomas Dooley and Phil Younghusband, are urging Filipino fans to watch the international friendlies against Bahrain tomorrow and North Korea on Monday evening at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.
“We expect 13,000 fans to fill up Rizal during our two friendlies. Unlike in Bulacan where there are around 6,000 who watched. The newly installed floodlights in Rizal are also now operational,” said Dooley
“The lineup of the teams in the two friendlies and for the Suzuki Cup in November will be on a day-to-day basis,” the Azkals coach added, “It will depend on how they play and their condition. But guys like Neil (Etheridge) won’t be available so we expect others like Roland (Mueller) and Patrick (Deyto) to step up their game.”
“Even if this is just a friendly game, our objective is to win against Bahrain and North Korea, and make sure no goals will be scored against us. There will be players, like Misagh, whose goal is to put the ball through the net and our midfielders (like Phil) who needs to be creative. These players might fight for their country and represent their country with pride.”