by James De VeraPhilippine Azkals will have to be at best form in this year’s ASEAN Football Federation Suzuki Cup, also known as the AFF Championships, as they are grouped together with regional powers Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia in Group A at last Tuesday's draw in Yangon.
The country will be hosting the preliminary round of the championships for the first time in history together with Myanmar in Group B. Having the home court advantage on their side, expect massive number of "Azkaleros" (Azkals fans and supporters) to hype up their team's confidence and performance in this year's tournament. The games will take place in the Philippine Sports Stadium in Bocaue, Bulacan which can hold up to 20,000 fans while Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila will serve as the other venue for the final simultaneous group match. Key players like Phil Youngusband, Stephen Shrock and Neil Etherige needs to be at full strength and health to give the team a bigger chance of advancing deeper in the tournament. The Azkals have reached the semi finals of the Suzuki Cup for three consecutive times but failed to win one. They lost 2-0 to Indonesia in 2010, 1-0 to Singapore in 2012, and 3-0 to Thailand in 2014, all in aggregate.
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