The Philippines National Football team has released their 23 man lineup for AFC Asian Cup 2019. Some names in the squad, or out of it, are causing tounges to wag among Pinoy football fans. To make sense of this, Pinoyfootball’s staff and a special guest chime in with their thoughts in first edition of Pinoyfootball’s roundtable discussion, The Huddle.
1) The biggest news out of the lineup is the exclusion of Neil Etheridge, with him opting to fight for Cardiff City’s Premier League survival. Thoughts?
Jaimer Dela Cruz (Pinoyfootball writer): So ang masasabi ko lang, the exclusion of Neil Etheridge plays a good and a bad part for us.Good in a way that we’ll have a consistent GK for the tourney unless he gets injured (Michael Falkesgaard for example).
Xy-Zha Cabanlong (Author, Diary of a Footie Fangirl): In the onset, I felt sad that Neil is not on the list. Alam ko he wanted to be there, but looking at his standing at the EPL, the exclusion is understandable since he’s doing good in the big league. I wanted to believe that he is the best player Cardiff has by far and they cannot afford to lose him at this time. He knows it too so he’d better stay than heed the call for national duty. Surely he wants to remain as Cardiff’s #1
Ced Seredrica (Pinoyfootball editor): The exclusion gives young guys like Ace Villanueva experience sa big tournament atmosphere, na di nya makukuha if Neil was called up.
2) With that said, how will the chosen goalkeepers (Michael Falkesgaard, Ace Villanueva, Kevin Hansen) fare in filling Neil’s big shoes?
XZC: Perfect opportunity for the other Pinoy goalies to step their game up. Falkesgaard has big shoes to fill in, we could see what Hansen has to offer and with Villanueva in, perhaps we can also see what the future holds for the Azkals.
CS: Falkesgaard will definitely be this lineup’s starting GK. The way I see it, if we fail to qualify early, either Ace or Kevin will get a run out for the last game, unless Falky gets injured early.
JDC: Hansen offers a lot on the table but he needs to gel with everyone first since he is new, unlike Ace or Falky.
3) Azkals lineups were nominally criticized in the recent past for a lack of natural defenders, especially centerbacks. How does the squad fare this time around?
Mark Del Valle (Pinoyfootball Senior Editor): Glad to see Alvaro Silva on the roster, just unfortunate that we couldn’t use his services for our previous senior fixtures.
XZC: Why Paul Mulders? I know he’s a good player but are we still lacking defenders? Don’t we have equally good defenders playing for local clubs that we would opt for an aging legs to be in the Azkals? Also, I’m worried with Luke Woodland. Is he 100% fit?
Kent Garcia (Pinoyfootball writer): The key, I think, is to get a defensive enforcer sa gitna to safeguard the defence and to give leeway for the other central midfielder to create chances. That is why I think Adam Tull is there. Siya yung defensive enforcer na pwede gamitin. Dude is tough.
4) Let’s move on to the midfield and attack. Who would be the key players in these zones?
JDC: Phil, Patiño and Strauss. We saw Strauss open up a lot of chances during his Suzuki Cup stint, while Patiño is a proven boost. Phil is Phil, but can he do it in a cold dry January night in Fujairah?
KG: I would’ve wanted Amin Nazari in midfield, but Miguel Tanton is a good alternative. He looks like someone who has no business being on the field, but magugulat ka na lang when he starts to operate in midfield.
CS: My ideal front three are Schrock, Patiño and Mike Ott. If Sven Goran-Eriksson decides to play a 4-4-2, it will be Strauss and Manny in the middle. Move Phil up top with those three.
5) In your mind,how did the Azkals management fare in selecting the squad? Any players that were either wrongfully snubbed or unjustly included?
MDV: It must have been a selection headache for Sven Goran-Eriksson. I think that our result in the Suzuki Cup influenced squad nomination. If we have won it or at least went to the finals, I’m sure that we would have paraded the bigger names to hold on to the pride and name of being the best in the region. However, as it is, with the Asian Cup seeding that we have, it would not be beneficial for the marquee players who are still competing for a position in their own leagues to take the weeks off from their own rosters, especially if the results would not favor us.
KG: Questionable decision talaga to leave Amin Nazari out of the roster.
XZC: Another notable absence besides Amin Nazari is Martin Steuble. I think these two should have been there. Also, I have nothing against Curt Dizon, but I don’t think he did good in the Suzuki Cup, why is he there?
6) Lastly, how will the lineup fare in its Asian Cup group of South Korea, China and Kyrgyzstan?
KG: It’s nearly impossible to beat the Koreans with that roster. Pero China, may issue din sila sa aging roster, injuries and thin talent pool heading to the Asian Cup. We have a chance to actually hold them to a draw. Pero it is still a daunting task.
JDC: Malaking legacy boost kay Sven yan pag naipanalo nya yang ganyang lineup. We can win against Kyrgyzstan, pero a draw against China and South Korea is already historic.
XZC: We can at least score against Korea, at least Sven is dreaming the impossible.
CS: This group ain’t reaching the knockout rounds, pero ok na to for 3 games.
