Philippine national team prepares for World Qualifying Round 40
The news comes from Doha that 13 players from the Philippine national team have already met with head coach Cooper as of the 23rd as they prepare for the World Preliminary 40 tournament. However, the rest of the scheduled list of players have yet to arrive in Doha, and individual players have not been able to make it in time due to league commitments, so the assembly time remains a mystery.
On the night of May 20, a handful of members of the Philippine national team departed Manila for Doha. Only six players are traveling, including captain Schrock and striker Hartman (both of Union City), as well as four other players from the "Philippine Development Team." The team, coached by Cooper, is made up of players from the Philippine U23 team for the 2019 Southeast Asian Games who played in the Philippine Domestic Professional League last year. They include Mar Diano, Winhoff, Gayoso and De Vera, with Gayoso and Mar Diano having moved to Thailand's Muang Thong United in January.
The Philippine national team arrived in Doha early in the morning of May 21 and trained only briefly. Seven more players then joined the team in the last two to three days. They are midfielder Baldissimo from Canada Pacific, center forward Giraldo from St. Joseph of Gibraltar, goalkeeper Schipmann from Germany's fourth-division team, left back Kempter from Switzerland's second-division team Quetzalmacos, and three defenders, Silva, Woodland, and midfielder Reichelt, who are playing in Thailand's Super League.
At present, there are still 12 players who have not yet arrived in Doha to join the national team. Among them, Germany's third-tier team midfielder Obermaier also represented Magdeburg team to participate in the league yesterday; two Bundesliga 2 team midfielder Strauss and the first-time selection of Holtmann to participate in the Bundesliga 2 in Germany today. As for the famous goalkeeper Etheridge, who plays for England, he has not yet arrived in Doha because he just got married.
In addition, Malaysian defender Demuga and goalkeeper Mondosa have yet to find flights to Doha; Japanese defender Tabinas has not been allowed to leave due to the epidemic in Japan; and two Thai players have also failed to make it to Doha. Newly called-up Swedish defender Nyholm is out of the league due to a long-term injury. Whether they will join the national team is still unknown.
At the moment, the biggest problem facing the Philippine team is the lack of personnel. It remains a mystery when the players will arrive in Doha.
