Teen Ayuyus gearing up for AFC qualifiers

Members of the CNMI U18 pool pose for a photo before a training match in Guam early this month. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

With the CNMI U19 Boys National Team set to face three tough squads in the 2018 AFC U19 Championship Qualifiers, the Teen Ayuyus will need all the trainings they could get to keep up with their opponents.

“Right now, the boys U18 players are training three times week,” said assistant coach Jershwin Angeles, who is conducting the pool’s practices along with Jonathan Takano as Northern Mariana Islands Football Association technical director and head coach Michiteru Mita is still off-island.

Trainings sessions are held every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday at the Fiesta Resort & Spa and Koblerville Elementary School Field. The group is using the Fiesta sand court for strength and conditioning training, while team and individual drills are done at the Koblerville pitch from 4:30pm to 6:30pm or after school hours.

The Teen Ayuyus have about six months left to prepare for the 2018 AFC U19 Championship Qualifiers that will be held from Oct. 31 to Nov. 8. The Commonwealth players will be facing Australia for the first time and will also play against fellow East Asian Football Confederation members North Korea and Hong Kong.

“Obviously, North Korea and Australia are the favorites in our pool (Group J), but Hong Kong is also a tough opponent. Since we’ve never played against Australia before, we are relying on videos to study their style of play. We’re also doing some research against the other teams,” Angeles said.

The venue for the Group J qualifiers has yet to be announced, but Angeles said Australia and Hong Kong are likely to bid for the hosting rights. Eight of the other nine groups have already selected venues for their respective qualifiers. The top finisher in each pool and the five best runner-up teams along with the 2018 host country will advance to the finals.

Meanwhile, Angeles, Takano, and Mita are also preparing the CNMI U15 Boys National Team for the 2018 AFC U16 Championship Qualifiers that will be held in Thailand from Sept. 16 to 24.

Aside from the host country, the Teen Ayuyus will be squaring off against Laos, Timor-Lester, and Indonesia in the Group G qualifier.

“Just like Australia, we’ve never played against Indonesia before. All the teams that we will be facing for the first time will help our players a lot. It will be a learning experience for them and an opportunity to see how their skills would fare against players from big countries where there are many leagues and tournaments. The two AFC qualifiers will provide our players the exposure they need to continue their development, individually and collectively,” Angeles added.

The CNMI U15 players are training three times a week (Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday) at the Koblerville pitch and the indoor field at the TSL Sports Complex and the coaches are planning to hold two practice sessions per day as the tournament nears. They are also hoping to have another training camp off-island. Early this month, the U18 group went to Guam for training matches and won three out of their four games.