Azkals leave for Bahrain Friday

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine football team enters the final stretch of its buildup for a second round World Cup qualifying date against Kuwait as it leaves for Bahrain Friday for a training camp that will feature two friendly matches.

Philippine Football Federation president Mariano “Nonong” Araneta Thursday said the Azkals will play Bahrain’s Under-23 team twice in a span of four days before flying to Kuwait for the opening leg of the qualifier on July 23.

Araneta said the Azkals are also using their stint in the Middle East to get acclimatized with the extremely hot weather condition in the region.

Although the first leg match is set at night – 7:30 p.m. – at the Qadisiya Sports Club in Hawally (July 24, 12:30 a.m. Manila time), the condition remains hot.

Months of July and August are the hottest time of the year in the region with nighttime temperatures ranging between 38 and 44 degrees Celsius. “I know our players can adjust to the condition,” Araneta said.

The second leg will be played at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium in Manila on July 28.

Araneta admits the Azkals face a tall order against Kuwait, but believes the team can pull off an upset. Nicknamed Al-Azraq (The Blue), the Kuwait national team is ranked 57 spots higher than the Filipinos in the FIFA rankings and boasts of an Asian Cup trophy.

“We really hope to give them a good fight. The odds are stacked in their favor but what we want is for our team to give their best and show that we can now compete,” Araneta said.

Even Azkals coach Michael Weiss believes they are the underdog and said he would be happy “not to concede a goal” in the first leg.

Returning Fil-Dutch midfielder Jason de Jong is expected to boost the team, which is likely to miss team skipper Aly Borromeo and Fil- German Stephan Schrock, who will miss the away leg in Kuwait after getting their second yellow card against Sri Lanka.

Meanwhile, Araneta said the PFF is looking at sending Philippine under- 23 team to two training camps abroad, one in Osaka, Japan and the other in a Middle East Country sometime in September for a possible training camp.

Francis Santiago, Manila Bulletin