On May 27, there was strong news in the soccer world that a request for a warm-up training session by the Philippine national soccer team was met with a polite rejection from Qatar.
According to soccer commentator Chill, the Philippine spin.ph website reported that the Philippine team's training program in Doha officially kicked off last Sunday night, however, only 13 players have participated in the training so far. It is worth noting that the team's top player, English Championship Birmingham goalkeeper Etheridge, will not arrive in Doha until after his wedding. In addition, Justin Bass, the Philippines' newly naturalized center back from domestic giants Union City FC, has joined the team, while naturalized midfielder Strauss, who used to play for German Bundesliga side Aue, has suffered an injury, which is fortunately not serious. Nonetheless, the Philippine team still expects to complete the formation of its 25-man roster quickly in order to complete a comprehensive training program in Doha.
