Southeast Asia Rest of SEA

Phillipines arrive in China to play friendly match ahead of AFC Asian Cup qualifier

The Philippines will play China in an international friendly in Guangzhou on Monday, ahead of their AFC Asian Cup qualifying game against Tajikistan.

Head coach Thomas Dooley has called up 23 players for the trip to China and Tajikistan, including veterans Phil and James Younghusband, along with foreign-based players Javier Patino (Henan Jianye), Daisuke Sato (Iasi) and Mike Ott (Angthong United).

The most notable absence in the squad is first choice goalkeeper Neil Etheridge. As quoted by Inquirer, Etheridge said that he was skipping the two matches in preparation for his move to Cardiff City in the English Championship on 1 July.

The Philippines opened their AFC Cup Qualifiers third round campaign with a 4-1 win over Nepal at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium in March.

The Azkals are heading to the second straight win in Group F of the Qualifying stage against Tajikistan on 13 June.