AFC Challenge Cup Qualifier: Azkals enhance bid with Brunei pullout

Match today (Rizal Memorial Football Stadium)

4:30 p.m. – Turkmenistan vs Cambodia

MANILA, Philippines - Azkals coach Michael Weiss sees the last-minute withdrawal of Brunei from the Group E Qualifiers of the AFC Challenge Cup  as an opportunity to prepare more for their two remaining rival nations and for their Europe-based pros to acclimatize to local conditions better.

Brunei yesterday formally notified the Asian Football Confederation of its pullout from the Mar. 22-26 qualifiers at Rizal Memorial “due to unavoidble circumstances”,  leaving host Phl, Turkmenistan and Cambodia in a three-nation dispute for a berth to the Maldives Challenge Cup main draw.

The Philippine Football Federation and the match commissioners decided to hold the fixtures as originally scheduled (but minus Brunei) “unless the AFC instructs otherwise.” 

This means the Azkals, who are initially slated to debut against Brunei tonight, will take a breather in Day One of the qualifiers while Turkmenistan and Cambodia duke it out at 4:30 p.m.

“We can only shake our heads (in reaction to the Brunei withdrawal) but we have to take it as it is,” said coach Michael Weiss during the pre-tournament presscon.

“It gives us two more days (to prepare). Especially for our players who are not based in Phl and always have problems adjusting to the time difference and temperature difference, that’s two more days to adjust. Apart from that, we have a very good group together, a very good team built in the last two years. The base is there and we wanna push forward,” he added.

Parading a full-strength lineup with all the high-quality pros from overseas in town, the Azkals will play their first game on Sunday night against Cambodia and cap their campaign on Tuesday night against Turkmenistan, which brought 80 percent of the side that took second place to North Korea in the 2012 Challenge Cup in Nepal.

“I have full confidence in the team, I’m very positive,” said Weiss.

Brunei’s withdrawal has created complications in the overall qualification process, particularly in the computations for the slots allotted for the best two runners-up in all the five group qualifiers. 

PFF general secretary Ed Gastanes said they expect the AFC to come up with directives anytime soon.

The Brunei pullout also complicates the suspension of goal keeper Neil Etheridge. The AFC had earlier declared that Etheridge should sit out the match against Brunei but since that match is already stricken off, questions arose as to whether the one-game ban should carry over to the Cambodia fixture.