History is made with the Azkals…

I took my chance with the Philippines when the qualifiers for the World Cup started in 2015 and three years on we’ve made history qualifying for the 2019 Asian Cup.

We beat Tajikistan 2-1, we trailed, but we came back. Our veteran captain Phil Younghusband converted from the spot in the dying minutes in front of over 4,000 fans to get us through.

The atmosphere was amazing at Rizal Memorial Coliseum. It felt amazing getting the win - it’s the first time we’ve made the tournament. It’s a massive achievement, not only for the squad, but for the fans and the country.

I still support the Socceroos…

When I was into my second season with Adelaide United, I did really well in the Asian Champions League (ACL) and the A-League too. There was a bit of talk about me in the media about getting called up with the Socceroos. Eugene (Galekovic) was already a part of the set-up, I was in the media here and there was a chance of a call-up, but it never eventuated.

When Australia’s playing, it’s always nice to follow and see how things are going. See as well the new blood that is coming into the team. They’ve done remarkably well to make the World Cup and had a lot of adversity to deal with.

They showed their character to come through and I’m very happy for them. With the Asian Cup coming up, they’re undoubtedly one of the favourites.

There very well could be a chance we could play against the Socceroos. Playing for the Philippines you never think that far ahead, but these competitions make it realistic. I’m really hoping we get a couple of big teams in our group whether it’s Japan, South Korea or even Australia. That’s what I’m really looking forward to and football can turn out in a funny way. If we ever come across the Socceroos, I still have mates that play for Australia so it’ll definitely be nice to play against them.

Growing up half-Filipino in Australia…

Mum was born in the Philippines, dad was from Scotland and I was born in Perth. Being brought up in Australia until I was 17, I moved away to Scotland to try my luck in the Scottish league. Growing up, my mum used to cook traditional Filipino food, so that’s where I got to understand the culture.

It wasn’t until my teens when the majority of my family from the Philippines moved to Sydney.