Match on Thursday: (Suzhou Olympic Sports Centre Stadium) 3 p.m. – Philippines vs Guam

THE Philippine Azkals have rekindled their partnership with Chooks-To-Go as they prepare for the resumption of the joint FIFA World Cup and AFC Asian Cup qualifiers this week in Suzhou, China.

Several key players, including first-choice goalkeeper Neil Etheridge, were ruled out in the Azkals’ first international competition since November 2019, as the challenges of competing in a pandemic have hounded the national squad.

Still, Chooks-To-Go, an active supporter in several sports, is looking forward to joining forces with the Philippine Azkals as they vie for a spot in the next phase of the joint qualifiers.

“Chooks-to-Go has been a staunch supporter of the Azkals since 2016,” national team manager Dan Palami said.

“We are hoping that our partnership will rekindle the magic we had a few years ago as it always leads to something positive. It’s really an honor to have them back,” he added.

For Chooks-To-Go president Ronald Mascariñas, he is hoping that the Azkals rise above all the adversities they have faced heading into the tournament.

Chooks-to-Go supported the national men’s football team for three years until 2018.

“We have heard about the challenges that have been stacked in front of the Azkals,” said Mascariñas. “But knowing the Philippine Football Federation, Dan, and (coach) Scott (Cooper), they know how to handle these things. We want the Azkals to fully focus on the task at hand.”

The Philippines currently sits at third place in the Group A table with seven points.

Syria is at pole position with 15 points followed by China at seven. The Chinese were expected to get past last-place Guam side last night.

The Azkals are wrapping up their Doha training camp and will head to China today.

The Philippines takes on Guam on Thursday, China on June 9, and Maldives on June 15, all at the Suzhou Olympic Sports Centre Stadium.

The top two teams in the pool will advance to the third round of the World Cup qualifiers and the Asian Cup proper. The third and fourth placed squads will head to the Asian Cup qualifying third round while the last placed team will be placed in the Asian Cup qualifying play-off round. (Theodore P. Jurado)