Early preparation for 2014
Philippine Azkals coach Michael Weiss plans to begin their preparation for the 2014 Asian Football Conference Challenge Cup as early as June this year, hoping to keep the same 23-member lineup in time for the final eight-team tournament in the Maldives. And Weiss is looking at all International Federation of Association Football (Fifa) match dates for friendly games against stronger teams starting on June 4, 8 and 12. The team is set to play an away match in Hong Kong and then return home for two more games, one in Cebu and the other at the Rizal Memorial Football Field against Southeast Asian powerhouse teams Thailand and Vietnam. "We (also hope to) the Emirates or Syria, one of those Middle East teams and see how far we can go,” said Weiss, who also eyes holding two friendly matches on all Fifa dates from September to November. He said that the Azkals’ management and coaching staff will also work on trying to keep the current 23-member roster and turn them into a ...