As one of the most prominent prodigies in Philippine football, Sandro Reyes always had the spotlight on him during his formative years.
Now as a full-fledged member of the Philippine Azkals, the 19-year-old midfielder is beginning to demonstrate his talent in the senior level.
Against Brunei in the AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2022, he scored a fantastic strike at the 12th minute to help the Philippines win 5-1 to get its campaign back on track.
The Kaya-Iloilo player competed for the whole 90 minutes. He performed a box-to-box role in midfield and was effective throughout both halves of the pitch.
“Playing with Stephan Schrock and Mark Hartmann really helps me. It gives me more freedom to go up and Mark, he just stays a bit back,” explained the 5-foot-8 standout.
Coming off a loss to Cambodia in opening day, the Azkals needed to seal all three points against Brunei to get their Group A campaign on track.
It was also imperative that they put up a good show in front of the home crowd to increase their belief as tougher tests lie ahead.
“I think as a team, this boosts our confidence,” said Reyes. “We just had to win today. We still are thinking obviously about the Cambodia game.
“Thailand is a different animal (compared to) Brunei.”
While he may still be a teenager, Reyes is already setting himself up to be one of the key members of the Azkals.
It is not only him, though, as the likes of Jens Rasmussen and Pocholo Bugas showed that the next generation of Filipino national team players are already making themselves known at the senior level.
“Definitely especially since most of the guys are playing professionally. I’ve played lots of games this year internationally,” he said.
“It’s a big step to the men’s (level) but the senior guys help a lot.”
