GERRIT Holtmann is set to make his Azkals debut, as Neil Etheridge is slated to return for the senior national team to the FAS Tri-Nations Series to be held from March 23 to 29 at the National Stadium in Singapore.
Holtmann and Etheridge are among the big names in the 25-man roster for the competition, the first for the Azkals for the year, featuring the Singapore and Malaysia teams.
The 26-year-old Holtmann has four goals for for VfL Bochum 1848 in the Bundesliga
Etheridge, playing for Birmingham City in the English Football League Championship, returns to the Azkals after missing the AFF Suzuki Cup and the qualifiers for the Fifa World Cup and AFC Asian Cup due to the competition not being part of the Fifa calendar.
Azkals new guys
Aside from Holtmann, defenders Enrique Linares from Spain’s UD San Pedro and Diego Bardanca from Buriram United of Thailand will be making their Azkals debut.
Striker John Patrick Strauss also makes a return after also skipping the Suzuki Cup and Fifa and Asian Cup qualifiers
Also taking part in the Tri-Nations Series are goalkeepers Kevin Ray Hansen and Quincy Kammeraad, defenders Amani Aguinaldo, Justin Baas, Carlos De Murga, Daisuke Sato, Oliver Bias, Dennis Villanueva and Jesse Curran, midfielders Harry Foll, Kevin Ingreso, Oskari Kekkonen, Manny Ott, Iain Ramsay, Stephan Schrock, Dennis Villanueva, and forwards Mark Hartmann, Bienve Maranon, OJ Porteria, and Patrick Reichelt.