Rufer named nine new players with an eye on next year’s Pacific Games in Port Moresby.
Papua New Guinea played Singapore in a friendly international last month and lost 2-1.
Assistant coach Milan Miric said it will be a perfect stepping stone for the players to prove themselves and provide a solid platform to evaluate the squad’s tactical and technical improvements.
“The team will be in Philippines for five days to give chances to the boys who were not part of the Singapore trip. This is an experience to be part of the team to hopefully gel better and achieve our final objectives as a squad,” said Miric.
“It will be good exposure for the squad in playing in East Asia while we’re also looking forward to play more friendlies in October and December before the National Soccer League kicks off.”
The match was arranged hastily following the cancellation of the Philippines previously scheduled opponents.
Philippines coach and former USA international Thomas Dooley contacted Rufer to discuss the possibility of Papua New Guinea stepping into the fixture gap.
Dooley and Rufer both played in Germany’s Bundesliga, Dooley turning out for Bayer Leverkusen, Schalke and Kaiserslautern – one of Rufer’s former clubs.
Ends
Extra information
Papua New Guinea Squad:
1. Albert Mesulam
2. John Bai
3. Koriak Upaiga
4. Jeremy Yasasa
5. Valentine Nelson
6. Agi Moses
7. Daniel Joe
8. Brendan Joe
9. Eliud Fugre
10. Michael Foster
11. David Muta
12. Niel Hans
13. Nigel Dabinyaba
14. Tommy Semmy
15. Joshua Talau
16. Nathaniel Lepani
17. Gary Moka
18. Patrick Aisa
Coach: Wynton Rufer
Match Details
Friendly International
Sunday 12 October, 2014
Philippines v Papua New Guinea
Manila
Philippines
Kick-off: 8pm local time