THE Philippine men’s football team will go up against Sri Lanka on November 19 in a friendly at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.
PMNT will be playing at home eight months after it went up against Iraq in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier - and a month before it starts its campaign in the 2024 Mitsubishi Electric Cup.
The Philippines will also go up against Myanmar on December 12, also at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.
READ Holtmann screamer highlights PMNT's dominant win over Tajikistan
The home matches will follow the Philippines’ friendly against Hong Kong on Thursday, as part of the FIFA international window.
Philippines is ranked No. 145 in the world, while Sri Lanka is at No. 203.
Philippine Football Federation director for national teams Freddie Gonzalez said head coach Albert Capellas will continue to infuse his philosophies heading into a stretch of tournaments that also includes the 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers.
“Just continuing what Albert wants to implement for the team with the upcoming Mitsubishi Cup in mind, with an eye on the Asian Cup qualifying. All of these is in preparation for our qualifiers in March,” said Gonzalez.
Goalkeepers Patrick Deyto, Quincy Kammeraad, and Kevin Mendoza, defenders Amani Aguinaldo, Jessie Curran, Michael Kempter, Kike Linares, Jefferson Tabinas, Paul Tabinas, and Scott Woods, midfielders Manny Ott, Patrick Reichelt, Sandro Reyes, Christian Rontini, and Patrick Strauss are among the members of the squad for the window.
Gerrit Holtmann returns for another tour of duty for the Philippines after helping the team pick up a 3-0 win over Tajikistan in the Kings’ Cup last October. He leads the frontline along with Uriel Dalapo, Dylan Demuynck, Jarvey Gayoso, Bjorn Martin Kristensen, Alex Monis, and Santiago Rublico.
From the players in the previous international window, Gonzalez said Dylan Demuynck and Sebastian Rasmussen will not play in the two matches due to hamstring issues, while Joshua Grommen is out due for personal reasons.
Zico Bailey is still doubtful as he just concluded his stint with New Mexico United in the United States League Western Conference final.
“Pretty much everybody from last window will be there,” said Gonzalez.
Gonzalez said the PFF is also improving the fan experience for the home match as two fan zones will now be in placed outside the Rizal Memorial Stadium.
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