The Azkals gear towards a tight June Qualifiers

With just a month remaining before the biggest qualifying matches of their lives, the Philippine Azkals will look to squeeze the most out of the time that they have in order to prepare for their joint 2022 FIFA World Cup and 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers which are set to be played in a bubble in Jiangsu, China.

In a press conference published live on The Philippine Football Federation Facebook page, Azkals team manager Dan Palami, head coach Scott Cooper, the PFF president Mariano "Nonong" Araneta, and the PFF General Secretary Atty. Ed Gastanes bared to the masses their plans as well as their ambitions for the upcoming round of qualifiers.

Araneta gave the fans an idea of how the preparations are going to work amidst the pandemic as he bared the plans to travel to Qatar ahead of the qualifiers to set up a training camp. "We have communicated with Qatar Football Association to host our team for a training camp. As you know very well, it's so hard to train here in the Philippines right now," said Araneta.

"There's always been a logistical nightmare every time we travel even before the pandemic because our players are coming from different areas and different leagues in the world. We are very thankful for the PFF and to sir Nonong for the good relationship that he has with Qatar. With this development, we are thankful and hopeful that this preparatory camp will be a success," followed up by Palami. \

The process to get them into the training camp will never be easy, especially that the pandemic hampered every movement from everyone. Atty. Gastanes said, "It's very difficult because of the situation. There were plans to have a camp in Manila, in Thailand, and in Chinese Taipei but Doha, Qatar is a very good option. Doha has hosted the AFC competitions even during the pandemic last year and they have the medical protocols and the experience."

Even before the camp will start, the Philippines will already have to deal with a major road bump as the camp will not be within the FIFA international window which would prevent some of the key players to join the camp as they'll have to finish their club commitments first.

"The schedule of the camp starts on the 18th of May and we'll be there until the 31st. Fortunately, we have fostered a good relationship with some of the clubs and some of their managers. They've allowed some of the players to leave earlier than the FIFA international dates," said Palami.

The Azkals will be facing Guam on the third of June followed by a very crucial match against China on the ninth before their final game against the Maldives on the 15th of June. All games will be played inside the bubble set up in Suzhou Olympic Centre in Suzhou, Jiangsu, China. Should the Azkals be able to bag all three victories, they have a chance to progress to the next round of the qualifiers for the World Cup.