Excitement looms for the Philippines Under-22 team when they begin their 29th Southeast Asian Games campaign against Cambodia, Tuesday 15 August 2017, 8:45 PM at the MP Selayang Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The Philippines U22 squad flew to Malaysia last Friday ahead of the start of the SEA Games Men’s Under-22 football tournament. The Philippines are drawn in Group B with Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand, Timor Leste, and Vietnam.
Head coach Marlon Maro is aware of the tough teams in the group, but he expects the team to perform well against the opposition.
“I think we’re ready and we will take one game at a time,” said Maro. “We’re in the group of death, it will be a tough tournament against the best teams in the region but we are confident.”
Maro added that the team’s performance in the AFC Under-23 Championships 2018 Qualifiers will give the Philippine U22 team the chance to surprise their opponents in the group. The Philippines lost to Cambodia, 1-0, in the qualifiers last month in Phnom Penh.
“We have prepared this team well,” added Maro. “There is no reason why we cannot pull off some surprises.”
