IT’S a long way to go, but the Azkals could find inspiration in the Blue Samurai of Japan.

“Fourteen years ago, I saw Japan being in almost the same situation where the Azkals are in right now,” said the Azkals’ German coach Michael Weiss after the draw that matched the Philippines against Sri Lanka for the World Cup qualifiers later this year.

“But, look at them now, look at where they are right now. They are one of the strongest teams in Asia. With our team, I am very proud and I can see the efforts from them to rise.”

Officials see it as a favorable draw that could help see the Philippines advance farther than it has in World Cup qualifying history.

The Philippines, ranked No. 151 by the world governing body Fifa, will be playing No. 173 Sri Lanka in a home-and-away two-part match on June 29 and July 3.

The Brave Reds will host the Azkals in the first match at the Sugathadasa Stadium.

The PFF has yet to decide where the country’s home match will be, at Panaad in Bacolod or at the Rizal Memorial in Manila.

Weiss, who earlier said they don’t want to speculate yet on who they will go up against in the qualifiers, added: “I could personally get tapes of Sri Lanka games but we can also send someone from the PFF to do that. It has to be done.

“In terms of preparations, hopefully, we can have a physically strong team equipped with the right techniques that we could apply when playing. We want to make accurate preparations in order for us to have a bigger chance of advancing. And with the players coming in, we have to keep them all together now for us to have a fair chance.”

The strengthening of the team is a high priority as team manager Dan Palami and Weiss plan to go to Germany to scout for more players with Filipino lineage who want to play for the national team. More tryouts are also scheduled in the Europe and the US.

“Even if we’re meeting Sri Lanka, we still can’t be complacent. We’ll have to prepare for each match as if it’s our last…as if our backs are behind the wall. I have faith that the Azkals will shine more and I have full confidence with our coach. Hopefully, we get to the third round. That will be a bigger achievement. We’ll take it one step at a time. I am quite confident that we’ll have a fair chance with other teams, especially those teams more than 50 places ahead of us in the rankings.

Palami was pertaining to Kuwait, which is already seeded for the second round of the World Cup Qualifiers.

Although the Azkals are on a one-month break from national team duty, many still will be seeing action in the ongoing United Football League tournament.

“Malaking bagay rin na may pahinga kami,” said Azkals midfielder Emelio “Chieffy” Caligdong. “Bawi kami sa mga ibang responsibilities at may time mag-heal ’yung ibang injuries.”

The Azkals resume practice for the World Cup qualifiers in May.

Rick Olivares, Business Mirror