THE Philippines Azkals begin their quest for the 2014 Asean Football Federation (AFF) Suzuki Cup title when it takes on qualifying team Lao PDR in the opening match at the Mỹ Đình National Stadium in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Saturday (5 p.m. Manila time).
Laos, which hosted the five-team qualification round, finished second to Myanmar in the single round robin to land the final spot in Group A.
Expecting to engage in a wide-open race against the likes of 2010 semifinals tormentor Indonesia and 2008 champion and host Vietnam, the national squad tapped numerous international veterans to back the up-and-coming players on their lineup.
Brothers Phil and James Younghusband, Jerry Lucena, Paul Mulders, Patrick Reichelt, Misagh Bahadoran, Chris Greatwich and captain Rob Gier will have the heavy task of aiding young upstarts, led by Kenshiro Daniels, Manny Ott and Daisuke Sato.
Others named to Coach Thomas Dooley’s 21-man rotation are Amani Aguinaldo, Curt Dizon, Dennis Villanueva, Juani Guirado, Mark Hartmann, Martin Steuble, Patrick Deyto, Simone Rota and Tomas Trigo.
In their last meeting during the group stages of the 2014 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Challenge Cup at the Maldives, the Azkals blanked the Laotians on May 22, 2-0, behind goals from Rota (41st) and Reichelt (63rd).
The Philippines went on to the knockout phase of the tournament, where they were downed by Ashraf Al-Fawaghra’s lone goal for Palestine.
Following this contest, the national footballers will face Indonesia on November 25 then group host Vietnam on November 28.