EXPECT new faces to bolster the Philippine men’s football team in the next Fifa window in July.
PMNT head coach Tom Saintfiet said several Fil-foreign players will most likely be coming in for the final two matches of the joint Fifa World Cup 2026/AFC Asian Cup 2027 second round qualifiers.
Among the names Saintfiet mentioned were Raphael Obermair, Anthony Markanich, Joseph Baccay, Zico Bailey, Dylan Demuynck, Johannes Selven, Bjorn Martin Christensen, and Adrian Ugelvik.
“Ninety percent are, in theory, in and the passports are ready for the June matches,” said Saintfiet.
Playing in the German Bundesliga for Paderborn 07, Obermair has been on the radar of the national team for some time now. He was called up by the team formerly called as Azkals as early as two years ago, but has not played.
Markanich and Bailey, on the other hand, are based in the US playing for Major League Soccer side St. Louis City and USL Championship club New Mexico United, respectively.
Baacay, Ugelvik, and Christensen play in Norway, while Demuynck and Selven, are based in Belgium and Sweden, respectively.
Saintfiet said the team is also reaching out to former players Gerrit Holtmann, Patrick Strauss, and Michael Kempter.
Saintfiet, however, said Holtmann, who also plays in the Bundesliga and has already played for the Azkals during the 2022 Fifa qualifiers, has not responded to querries on a possible Philippine call-up, while Kempter has an injury.
The Philippines is coming off a home-and-away sweep at the hands of Iraq last week to stay at the bottom of Group F with one point.
PMNT, however, still has a slim chance of advancing to the third round of the Fifa qualifiers with Indonesia at second place with seven points.
PMNT will play Vietnam and Indonesia on the road in the June window.
If it fails to advance to the Fifa qualifiers, the Philippines will still play in the third round of the Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers.
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