PH U23 set to do battle in Cambodia
The Philippine men’s under-23 national football team during their practice. | Photo from the PFF official website.
CEBU CITY, Philippines— The Philippine Men’s under-23 national football team will debut in tomorrow’s Asean Football Federation (AFF) U23 Championships 2022 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
They will face Timor-Leste in their opening match under Group A at the Morodok Techo National Stadium at 5 p.m. on Monday, February 14. Their second match on February 17 is against the host country Cambodia, and their final group stage match is against Brunei Darussalam on February 20.
A total of 26 players coming from various collegiate, professional and the Azkals developmental teams were called up to don the country’s tri-colors for the AFF U23 Championships.
These players are Quincy Kammeraad, Enrico Mangaoang, Jessie Semblante, Gyles Lucas Encabo, Pete Forrosuelo, Jayvee Kallukaran, Elijah Liao, Miguel Mendoza, Jaime Rosquillo, David Setters, Oliver Bias, Pocholo Bugas, Dennis Chung, Kieran Hayes, Oskari Kekkonen, Jacob Maniti, Matt Ocampo, Antoine Ortega, Jacob Peña, Sandro Reyes, Nathan Rilloraza, Marano Suba Jr., Scott Woods, Andres Aldeguer, Griffin McDaniel, and Ivan Ouano.
Kekkonen, Bias, Chung, Reyes, and Kammeraad played in the men’s national football team or the Philippine Azkals in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U23 Championships in 2022 qualifiers last year and the AFF Suzuki Cup.
The team will be coached by British Stewart Hall while his assistant coaches are Norman Fegidero, John Paul Merida, Ernest Nierras, and Noel Marcaida.
The team is upbeat and highly motivated by the huge success of the Philippine Women’s National Football Team (PWNFT) that qualified for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 during the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2022 in India.
They spent their training camp at the PFF National Training Center in Carmona, Cavite and at the Biñan Football Stadium in Biñan, Laguna before flying to Cambodia for the tournament.
The tournament serves as a tune-up for the team in the upcoming 31st Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi, Vietnam in May.
On the other hand, Group B is composed of Malaysia, Myanmar and Laos while Group C is comprised of Thailand, Vietnam, and Singapore.
The top team in each group advances to the knockout stage together with the best second placed team.
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