Philippines calls up 26 for World Cup Qualifying

On Wednesday, the Philippine Football Federation called up twenty-six players for the Philippines' opening two matches of second round dual qualifying in the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2027 AFC Asian Cup.

The Azkals are slated to host Vietnam on November 16 with Indonesia coming to the country on the 21st. Both matches are set to take place at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium.

Leading the side is captain Neil Etheridge of Birmingham City, alongside notable veterans Kenshiro Daniels, Manny and Mike Ott, OJ Porteria, Patrick Reichelt, and Daisuke Sato.

In making the decision, head coach Michael Weiss based his selection on both player availability as well as performances from the friendlies that took place in the past months.

He shares, "It’s a good mixture of experienced mainstays for a long time and young well-developing talents brought on by the recent performances of Philippine clubs in AFC competitions. It gives us reason to be optimistic for our first World Cup qualifier matches against Vietnam and Indonesia."

The Azkals faced off against Nepal, Chinese-Taipei, Afghanistan, and Bahrain during that stretch.

With a few notable players left off due to a variety of reasons, Weiss puts a bigger emphasis on the ones "who are with us for the qualifiers."

In line with the Philippines hosting two ASEAN rivals, the PFF has launched a campaign aimed to encourage support the national team.

Called #StandYourGround and #10KStrong, the PFF hopes to encourage fans to show their backing for the team in time for these two matches. With this in place, Weiss believes that such a home support would help propel the Azkals to secure a result.

The German says, "A very important factor is the enthusiasm and support of the 12th man. We hope the fans come in numbers to the stadium, and be part of history."

Players:

1. ETHERIDGE, Neil Leonard

2. HANSEN, Kevin Ray

3. DEYTO, Patrick Phillip

4. ROTA, Simone

5. MARTINEZ DE MURGA, Carlos Alberto

6. TABINAS, Jefferson David

7. RONTINI, Christian

8. CURRAN, Jesse Thomas

9. SATO, Daisuke

10. RUBLICO, Santiago

11. VILLANUEVA, Dennis

12. LYNGBO, Simen Alexander

13. BUGAS, Pocholo

14. PORTERIA, Jose Elmer

15. OTT, Manuel

16. OTT, Mike Rigoberto

17. KEKKONEN, Oskari

18. INGRESO, Kevin

19. BAAS, Mikel Justin

20. REICHELT, Patrick

21. MARAÑON, Bienvenido

22. MENZI, Audie

23. ANGELES, Marwin Janver

24. MELLIZA, Jesus Joaquin

25. DANIELS, Kenshiro Michael

26. SCHRÖCK, Stephan Markus