Azkals take on the Chicago Inferno

The Philippine Azkals face another test on Sunday morning Philippine time against the Chicago Inferno of the Premier Developmental League, the fourth tier of competition in American Soccer.

The game will take place in the Inferno's home ground, the Joe Bean Stadium at Wheaton College in the outskirts of Chicago. The match will be aired live on Studio 23 at 8:00 am, August 12.

For this friendly match the Philippines will be without Phil and James Younghusband, who were previously committed to the draft day of the Clear Dream Match on August 11 and did not make the trip.

Goalkeepers Neil Etheridge and Roland Muller are also absent from the camp, so Coach Michael Weiss will rely on a trio of Visayan keepers, Ed Sacapano from Negros Occidental, Ref Cuaresma from Dumaguete, and Paolo Pascual from Cebu.

Cuaresma suffered an injury to his right leg a few days ago in training but said via his Twitter that his recovery is "doing great."

Aly Borromeo, who has not played for the Azkals since hurting his knee in the UFL Cup last year, is available as are Jason Sabio, Misagh Bahadoran, Anto Gonzales, and Ian Araneta.

Veteran defender Rob Gier, originally slated to participate, picked up an injury and did not join the team.

There are a passel of young players in this squad, like Patrick Reichelt, Jeffrey Christiaens, and Marwin Angeles, who is joined by his twin brother Marvin, a striker. Marvin most recently participated the the Philippines' qualifying campaign in the AFC U22 championship.

It appears that newly-wed Angel Guirado did not make the trip but fellow Fil-Spaniard Carli De Murga will hope to see action, as will forward Denis Wolf.

This game could mark the Azkals debut of Demitrius Omphroy. The 23-year old American with a Panamanian father and an American-born Filipina mother was a midfielder when he played collegiate ball for Cal, but was a defender when he last played for Toronto FC in Major League Soccer. Toronto released him last November.

Omphroy represented the United States at the under-18 level and Panama in its under-21 team. Since he has yet to play for either country in the senior level, he could still play for the Philippines one day in a full International.

Omphroy suffers from Multiple Sclerosis and appears in Justin Bieber's music video for the song "Boyfriend."

When asked what position he might play for the Azkals, Omphroy replied via Twitter that he "got a little bit of everywhere in today (at practice) so we'll see."

U.S.-based Fil-Brit Chris Greatwich, who scored the first goal in the Azkals' historic victory versus Vietnam in the 2010 Suzuki Cup, is likely to be fielded. Another U.S.-based player, OJ Porteria, is in camp. The Virginian was a part of the Philippines' under-23 team in the 2011 SEA Games.

Fil-am Matthew Uy, who last practiced with the team before a friendly last year, is reportedly in camp, as is 19-year-old Josh Boone, who played for the Dayton Dutch Lions in the United Soccer League Professional Division, the nation's third tier of competition. It has been reported that Boone has a Filipina grandmother.

In the second game of this US tour, the Philippines will play a full International against the U.S. Virgin Islands on August 18 (Philippine time) in Indianapolis.

The Infernos, who just completed their inaugural season, are led by top scorer Emir Zrnic. The youngster from Bosnia-Herzegovina struck seven times this season for Chicago, who finished ninth of tenth in the Great Lakes Division of the Central Conference in the PDL with four wins, nine losses, and three draws.

There are an astonishing eight foreign nations represented on the Inferno roster. Chicago has players from Greece, Serbia, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Korea DPR, Poland, and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Unlike other countries' Football system, there is no promotion or relegation from tier to tier in the United States. There are 73 teams at this level in the United States, with a few top-tier Major League Soccer clubs fielding their under-23 squads.

According to the PDL wiki site, league rules stipulate that a maximum of eight players on each team's 26-man roster can be over 23 years old while at least three players on the roster must be 18 years of age or younger.

Many elite NCAA college soccer players choose to play in the PDL so as to keep themselves sharp during the summer.

Possible starting XI for the Philippines:

Wolf Araneta

Caligdong Greatwich Gonzales Bahadoran

Omphroy Sabio Borromeo DeMurga

Sacapano

You can follow Bob on Twitter @bhobg333.