The Philippine Football Federation is preparing a contingency plan for the Mitsubishi Electric Cup, formerly the Suzuki Cup, which is tentatively scheduled this December.
While the Filipinas were busy preparing for their semifinal outing in the AFF Women’s Championship, a team composed mostly of local players, quitely slipped out for a friendly with East Timor and the Bali United stadium on July 16.
The members of the team were Anthony Piinthus, Pete Forrosouelo, Matthew Nierras, Diego Bardanca, Dennis Chung, Mike Ott, Arnel Amita, Jovin Bedic, Yrick Gallantes, Mar Diano, Jesus Melliza, Julian Schwarzer, Oliver Bias, Hikarun Minegishi, Enrique Linares, Curt Dizon, Mark Hartmann and Audie Menzi. Thomas Dooley handled the team.
The team defeated East Timor, 4-1, with Ott scoring in the 12th and Menzi making it 2-0 in the 35th off a corner. Bedic, Kaya’s leading striker, had two goals in the 65th and 91st minute for the easy win.
“The Timor Friendly is a project of the National teams Committee and Technical Committee, to help identify national team caliber players. The team was made up mostly of PFL players. Since the Mitsubishi Electric Cup is tentatively scheduled in Dec, and not during the FIFA transfer window, we may encounter availability issues with foreign based players,” said Ernie Nierras.
Nierras said the national teams committee scheduled the friendly to allow PFL players the chance to showcase their skills to the Azkals management.
“The Azkals won the encounter 4-1, which shows that our local PFL players are capable and able to and the continuous participation of local players in the PFL has improved the quality of our players for international competitions,” said Nierras.
Meanwhile, Nierras and the Stallions played host to a few Malditas after their historic title-clinching run in the AFF Women’s Championship. Aside from visiting the stadium in Binan, which hosted the Southeast Asian Games in 2019, the team was treated to a carenderia meal and a tricycle ride.
