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Post by cjeagle on May 25, 2021 1:50:40 GMT 8
Justin Baas of @unitedcityfc_PH has also been called up to the team currently in Doha, Qatar preparing for the joint qualifying tournament for the Fifa World Cup and AFC Asian Cup.
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Post by zlatan01025 on May 25, 2021 9:59:25 GMT 8
As a possible replacement or the 26th to be called up? Also, I hope Strauss' injury isn't that serious, I saw him in a post-match video tweet of his club limping.
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Post by cjeagle on May 25, 2021 23:10:29 GMT 8
Azkals begin Doha camp, eye tune-up match vs India THE Philippine Azkals formally began their build-up for the joint qualifier for the 2022 Fifa World Cup and the 2023 AFC Asian Cup on Sunday night in Doha. Azkals coach Scott Cooper and team captain Stephan Schrock presided over the training session as part of their preparations for the competition to take place in Suzhou, China next month. A total of 13 players are already in Doha in Schrock, Matt Baldisimo, Mark Hartmann, Niko De Vera, Mar Diano, Angel Guirado, Alvaro Silva, Mark Winhoffer, Luke Woodland, Bernd Schipmann, Jarvey Gayoso, Patrick Reichelt and Michael Kempter, with other members of the team expected to follow. Aside from trainings, the Azkals are also expected to play tune-up matches in Doha during the build-up for the qualifiers where they face Guam, China, and Maldives. Although no official word has been released on the Azkals’ tune-up matches, reports coming out of New Delhi has indicated that India has already reached out for a possible training match. “The AIFF (All-India Football Federation) is in talks for a training match with the Philippines in Doha ahead of India’s first match against Qatar on June 3. If it happens, it will be a closed-door match with no spectator or TV allowed as both teams are inside a very secured bio bubble,” said a source of IFTWC. India is also in Doha for its build-up in the joint qualifiers but is bracketed in Group E. www.spin.ph/football/fifa/azkals-begin-doha-camp-eyes-tune-up-match-vs-india-a795-20210525?ref=home_feed_1
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Post by cjeagle on May 26, 2021 22:52:13 GMT 8
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Post by cjeagle on May 26, 2021 22:54:03 GMT 8
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Post by cjeagle on May 26, 2021 23:03:00 GMT 8
There have also been comments on social media that Holtmann is not coming since his paperwork won't be finished in time which is a big blow to the Azkals.
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Post by xyz1000 on May 27, 2021 6:03:06 GMT 8
There have also been comments on social media that Holtmann is not coming since his paperwork won't be finished in time which is a big blow to the Azkals. Read the old posts about him and he's been interested since at least 2018. Maybe even 2017. Does the paperwork really take that long? Someone dropped the ball big time on this one. PFF? Somebody is not doing their job.
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Post by cjeagle on May 27, 2021 7:23:39 GMT 8
There have also been comments on social media that Holtmann is not coming since his paperwork won't be finished in time which is a big blow to the Azkals. Read the old posts about him and he's been interested since at least 2018. Maybe even 2017. Does the paperwork really take that long? Someone dropped the ball big time on this one. PFF? Somebody is not doing their job. It just wasn't him. They could have started the process earlier for many of the other players. You would think that will all the delays provided by Covid 19 that they would have time to finish all the paperwork by now. It is typical that they end up scrambling in the end only when the actual qualifiers is right upon us.
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Post by zlatan01025 on May 27, 2021 8:27:34 GMT 8
Just by looking at it day by day, it shows that we are not prepared for this WC qualifiers. There still no news regarding Obermair and Fagerlie, also a lot of players also are not yet in Doha. Anyway, I hope we can still beat China in their home on the 9th.
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Post by cjeagle on May 27, 2021 23:08:45 GMT 8
THE Philippine Azkals will no longer play a practice match against India in Doha as part of their build-up for the joint qualification for the 2022 Fifa World Cup and the 2023 AFC Asian Cup. Goal.com reported the game didn’t got the clearance from Qatar’s health ministry. India is also in Doha as it will play its own qualification matches in Qatar. The Azkals are gearing up for the three remaining matches of the second round of the qualification where they will play Guam on June 3 and Maldives on June 9 to be played in a centralized venue in Suzhou, China. The Philippines will now face China on a later date after it was moved to June 15. But the Azkals also suffered a setback during the build-up as Gerrit Holtmann has officially been ruled out of participating with the national squad in the qualifiers. Holtmann’s club VFL-Bochum announced on its social media account that the Fil-German has not completed the required documents for him to be eligible for the Azkals to play in the joint qualifiers. The Azkals, though, remained optimistic as they continue their training camp. “The coaching staff has already been implementing their philosophy and you can see that the players are out to prove themselves on the field. I’m looking forward to see them grow in the next few days,” said Azkals skipper Stephan Schrock. www.spin.ph/football/fifa/azkals-practice-match-vs-india-cancelled-holtmann-ruled-out-of-qualifiers-a795-20210527?utm_source=Twitter-Spin&utm_medium=Ownshare&utm_campaign=20210527-twnp-football-azkals-practice-match-vs-india-cancelled-holtmann-ruled-out-of-qualifiers-a795-20210527-twfirst
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Post by cjeagle on May 27, 2021 23:35:29 GMT 8
Since Covid restrictions makes any practice games difficult to schedule for any teams in Qatar, the Philippine's official games against Guam and the Maldives in the qualifiers will be their only chance to gel as a team in more than 2 years before facing China since they haven't played a friendly during that interval because of Covid.
Obermair has begged off because of Covid. Nyholm is still recovering from his career threatening injury so he probably won't be coming as well. Strauss was also injured in his last league game.
Several other players also haven't arrived yet as their season just ended and their papers are still being worked on so the team can't even practice 11 vs 11 at camp as apparently only 18 players have arrived at the camp at this time.
In the case of Birmingham FC starting GK Neil Etheridge, the longtime starting goalkeeper and alternate captain for the Philippines is still in the middle of his honeymoon after getting married last week, so he will be a little late.
In the meantime Bernd Schipmann and Kevin Ray Mendoza has been practicing in camp as the alternate goalkeepers where they can be evaluated.
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Post by cjeagle on May 27, 2021 23:47:50 GMT 8
1. FC Magdeburg midfielder Raphael Obermair announced that he begged off international duty in a further blow to coach Scott Cooper and his staff.
Unlike fellow Fil-German Gerrit Holtmann, he was able to obtain his Philippine passport. However, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has forced him to postpone his Azkals debut.
“I was very pleased with the nomination and am immensely grateful that it worked so quickly with my passport, my Filipino citizenship. Especially during this coronavirus pandemic, the Philippine Football Federation has helped me so well,” he told the team’s official website.
“But I have decided to give up this journey now. I wouldn’t be able to travel until May 30th, I couldn’t even get to know the team and the whole team around me. And it is very important to me to get a good insight. In addition, we have had a stressful season in which there was virtually no winter break.”
This development compounds the issues surrounding the attendance of the Azkals as they gear up for the crucial qualifying matches in their training camp in Doha, Qatar.
Reports earlier stated that midfielder John-Patrick Strauss picked up an injury while playing for his team, FC Erzgebirge Aue.
Obermair would have been a welcome addition for the Philippines, which will face the likes of Guam, Maldives, and China. The 25-year-old midfielder’s contributed five goals and six assists in 25 appearances for 1. Magdeburg this season. Nevertheless, he is not closing his doors on an eventual debut for the Azkals.
“I’m very proud, even if it’s a small country in terms of football. But I keep hearing that the national team is very important in the Philippines. I am also told very often when I will be playing for the national team. My mother is also really looking forward to seeing me in this special jersey,” said the 6-ft-0 footballer.
“In any case, I would be happy if the next international trip works out, hopefully this year.”
tiebreakertimes.com.ph/tbt/fil-german-obermair-postpones-azkals-debut/209122
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Post by cjeagle on May 27, 2021 23:57:24 GMT 8
With so many Euro based players missing from the first call up, I wonder if the team can still call up additional players from Asia at this late stage.
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Post by cjeagle on May 28, 2021 23:58:01 GMT 8
Strauss has also taken his name out of consideration for the Philippine national football team because of injury.
Due to these late withdrawals from the National squad which now includes many of their best Euro based pros such as Strauss, Holtmann, Obermair, and Nyholm, reserve players Justin Baas and Mike Ott from the national team pool who both play for United City FC that is slated to participated in the AFC Champion's League late next month have now been called in to the Azkals to replace them.
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Post by cjeagle on May 29, 2021 12:13:12 GMT 8
Players in the initial pool that are out of the squad for the remaining qualifying matches of 2022 World Cup Qualifying and 2023 Asian Cup. www.facebook.com/TheAzkalsPH/photos/a.291786281003871/1803957496453401/Etheridge, Strauss, de Vera, Ramsay, de Murga, Obermair, Holtmann, Fagerlie, Nyholm Late Callups: Daniels, Mike Ott, Kammeraad, Baas arrived on Saturday for camp. Team will leave for Shanghai on Monday May 31 www.facebook.com/TheAzkalsPH/photos/a.291786281003871/1803947896454361/I am not confident they can get by China at this rate since so many key players are missing, so I am lowering my expectations at this point at least when it comes to the next stage of the WC qualifiers. They should still advance to the next Asian Cup qualifying stage though. There will still be many new young players that are at the men's camp for the first time that we can look forward to watching. They will now get their chance to be evaluated and possibly make an impact on the team so that is good for the Philippines moving forward. That includes Kempter, Baldisimo, Tabinas, Winhoffer, Schipman, Gayoso and Diano. Good luck Azkals.
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