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| Pre-match Press Conference photo |
The Philippines kicks off their King's Cup campaign on Friday night at 9:00PM, when they take on the hosts Thailand at the Tinsulanon Stadium. A lively atmosphere is expected, with a capacity crowd of 24,000 ready to welcome the traveling Filipinos. The match will be aired live on One Sports, Pilipinas Live, and the Philippine Men's National Football Team's Facebook page.
"From what I've scouted, they (Thailand) are a very good team with good players – dangerous players in front, and good organization in defense and in attack. I'm sure it'll be a tough game for us. We'll have to play a very good game to get a result," said Philippine Head Coach Albert Capellas, who is set for his first official match in charge. "But I think we are coming with a very good squad. And we will do our best to make it as difficult as possible for them. I'm really looking forward to playing Thailand.”
The Philippines welcomes back several players who have been away from the team in recent international windows: the highly touted Gerrit Holtmann, long-time standout Manny Ott, Swiss Premier League player Michael Kempter, promising forward Sebastian Rasmussen, Thailand-based defender Joshua Grommen, and dynamic midfielder Patrick Strauß.
"We haven't had much time together, but I think we are well prepared for the game," said Patrick Strauß, who plays his club football for Thai club Muangthong United. "We want to achieve something - we want to win. It will be a hard and tough game versus Thailand, but if we are able to do our best, we can win this game."
The hosts sit 48 places higher in the FIFA rankings than the Philippines, and haven't lost to the visitors since the 1970's. With seven ASEAN Championships under their belt, the War Elephants are the team to beat in Southeast Asia. The winner of Friday's match will go on to face the victor between Syria and Tajikistan on October 14.
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