Phl Azkals friendly vs Eagle shelved

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Azkals will have to make do with a couple of scrimmages with available teams for the remainder of their US training camp after the US Virgin Islands backed out of their scheduled Fifa friendly originally set Friday in Indianapolis.

The Dashing Eagle, according to the Azkals website, had difficulty making it to Indianapolis in time for the match, forcing organizers to call off the game and leaving the team scampering for replacements.

“This is a training camp so we continue training and will have scrimmages with other teams, “ team manager Dan Palami said in a statement.

The Azkals are on a 15-day training camp in the US as part of their preparations for the AFF Suzuki Cup in November in Bangkok, Thailand.

Phl XI earlier played Premier Development League side Chicago Inferno in Wheaton, Illinois last Saturday, losing a 1-3 decision to the club after a close first half.

US Virgin Islands was likewise a no-show in their first scheduled match against Chicago Inferno in Chicago last Tuesday.

“Issues within the US Virgin Islands national team prevented the entire team to travel to Chicago as scheduled, and have prompted event promoters and the Philippine Football Federation to cancel the Aug. 17th match against the Azkals in Indianapolis,” wrote Examiner.com’s Dennis ‘dSource’ Guillermo.

“An amicable solution to transport the USVI national team to Indianapolis in time could not be reached, thus forcing event promoters to come up with a suitable alternative,” he added.

The Azkals are slated to return to Phl on Aug 20, preparing next for a series of Fifa friendlies with Southeast Asian neighbors Cambodia in Pnomh Penh on Sept. 5, Singapore in Singapore on Sept. 7 and Laos in Vientiane on Sept. 10.