By Adrian Stewart Co

The Philippine national football team, the Azkals, will be banking on the services of Michael Falkesgaard and Patrick Deyto in goal with mainstay Neil Etheridge ruling himself out of their first two qualifying matches. The 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification round for the Asian Football Confederation kicks off next month.
“Michael is really good with his feet and Patrick has been a revelation at [Thai League 1 club Suphanburi FC],” said Azkals head coach Scott Cooper. “I’m glad Patrick has taken a step up in terms of the level of competition he’s playing [at] right now.”
The Azkals are drawn in Group A alongside China, Syria, Guam, and the Maldives. They open their campaign on September 5 against Syria.
“We’re very positive and the expectation is to win, not just see what we can do against these teams,” the Azkals coach added. “We have to give a bit more fight and have a lot more belief.”/ASC, WDJ