Philippines practice at the Rizal Memorial Stadium on Wednesday afternoon with 26 players, of whom only six play domestically. The rest play in England, Japan, Spain, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and Cambodia.
The most notable player is midfielder Stephan Schrock (jersey number 17). The 37-year-old retired from international football in May, but was persuaded to return by coach Michael Weiss. He plays for Manila FC now but used to play in Germany’s Bundesliga 2. Before playing 60 matches for the Philippines team, Schrock, who has a German father and Philippine mother, played for the German national U18, U19 and U20 teams.
Weiss said he could still play well enough for 30 to 45 minutes.
Goalkeeper Neil Etheridge has an English father and a Philippine mother and currently plays in the English Football League Championship for Birmingham City under coach and English legend Wayne Rooney.
He had earlier played in the English Premier League in the 2018-19 season, starting all 38 matches for Cardiff City.
Etheridge usually only joins the Philippine team for major tournaments. The last time he played against Vietnam was in the 2010 AFF Cup group stage when the Philippines scored a surprise 2-0 win.
18-year-old right-back Santiago Rublico (L) plays for the Atletico Madrid U19 team in Spain. Rublico has Philippine parents but was born in Spain.
He played for the Philippines at the SEA Games in May but did not cause much of an impression. He is thought to adopt the style of Barcelona legend Dani Alves.
Another young player is center-back Jefferson Tabinas (L). He was born in Japan to a Ghanaian father and Philippine mother. His younger brother Paul Tabinas is also a footballer.
The 25-year-old plays for Mito Hollyhock in Japan’s J-League 2.
35-year-old striker Patrick Reichelt is a notable name among the veterans with the most goals in the current Philippine squad: 14 in 80 matches.
Reichelt has a German father and a Philippine mother and was born in Germany. After failing to make a name in Germany, he came to Southeast Asia and played in Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines.
34-year-old veteran center-back Carli De Murga has a Spanish father and a Philippine mother. He joined the Philippine team in 2011 following conversations on Facebook with his mother's relatives.
29-year-old fullback Daisuke Sato (L) has a Japanese father and a Philippine mother.
He played in Romania from 2016 to 2019, then joined several Thai clubs and was a teammate of Vietnamese goalkeeper Dang Van Lam at Muangthong United in 2019 and 2020.
Sato now plays for Persib Bandung in Indonesia.
37-year-old striker Bienvenido Maranon was born in Spain but became a Philippine citizen in 2020. He played in Spain for many lower-level clubs, notably Cadiz. Since 2015 he has played in the Philippines, Malaysia and now Thailand's Chanthaburi.
Philippines have a famous pair of brothers, Manny (R) and Mike Ott (2nd, L). They have a German father and a Philippine mother. They decided to move to the Philippines in 2010 at the same time as Etheridge.
Philippines still miss many quality players in the clash against Vietnam due to injuries, notably strikers Mark Hartmann (Nakhon Si United, Thailand), Gerrit Holtmann (Antalyaspor, Turkey), John Patrick Strauss (Hansa Rostock, Germany ) and Raphael Obermair (SC Paderborn, Germany).
This year the Philippines have played eight friendly matches, winning three, drawing one and losing four.
Their record against Vietnam is poor with nine defeats, two wins and a draw.
They are hoping to get past the second qualifying round for the 2026 World Cup but are the lowest-rated team in a group also comprising Iraq, Vietnam and Indonesia. In the second round of qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup, the Philippines finished third in group A with 11 points from eight matches, ahead only of Guam and Maldives and behind China and Syria.
The match between the Philippines and Vietnam kicks off at 6 p.m. (Hanoi time) and will be reported live on VnExpress International.
