Azkals meet Chinese Taipei

The Philippine national men's football team hopes to play consistently as it faces Chinese Taipei today in another friendly match at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.

Kickoff is at 7 p.m. with the Azkals oozing with confidence after their 1-0 win over Nepal last Thursday.

Azkals head coach Hans Michael Weiss said he wants the team to be faster on the pitch as they will be facing a Chinese Taipei squad coming off a 2-2 draw against Thailand last week.

"Basically, I want more fluidity and faster combinations because they are able to do that. In training, we had small-sided games where they are pressured all the time and they have to get out of difficult situations," Weiss said in an online press conference.

"When you move in these tight spaces with comfort then you shouldn't have a problem in the big game. The tempo of the game must increase," he said.

The Azkals were able to win against the Nepalese after Jarvey Gayoso fired home a goal in the 50th minute off a corner kick from Mike Ott, giving Weiss his first win for the Philippines in his second tenure as head coach.

'Basically, I want more fluidity and faster combinations because they are able to do that.'

In the latest FIFA rankings, the Philippines is currently at No. 136 while Chinese Taipei is at No. 156.

Still, Weiss wants everybody to keep pushing knowing the Taiwanese's skill set.

Last time they faced off, Chinese Taipeh scored a 3-0 victory in Taipei last December.

"We are preparing against countries who are 'lower-ranking' than us but that doesn't matter on the gameday. Anything can happen," Weiss said.

"We're having a longer meeting now. The players have to be involved in scouting and observation," Weiss added.

Chinese Taipei head coach Gary White hopes his wards will be able to penetrate the defense of the Philippines and build on the draw against the Thais.

"Going into this game, there's a lot of things to improve on. The players are training hard and we just need to be a little bit more clinical in the final third and put away chances when they come along," White said.

These friendly games are part of the Azkals' build up for the first window of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification this October.

Apart from Gayoso, expected to play for the Azkals are veteran defenders Carli de Murga and Daisuke Sato as well as the likes of Sandro Reyes.

It is still unsure if Filipino-British goalkeeper Neil Etheridge will be tapped to play after Pateick Deyto had a superb outing against Nepal.