Defending champion Tajikistan battles Bhutan at the same time at the Barotac Nuevo Sports Plaza in the event sponsored by the PSC, Magnolia, Smart, GNC, Gatorade and Mizuno, the national team’s official outfitter.

The teams will play in a single-round robin with the top team advancing to the main tournament in Hyderabad, India from July 30 to October 10.

National coach Norman Fegidero said he will have an attack-minded side for the clash against the Bruneians, whom the Filipinos defeated, 4-1, in the Asean Football Championship Qualifiers in Bacolod City two years ago.

"We need to win. It doesn’t matter if its, 1-0, just as long as the players play well and we dominate the match," Fegidero, a national player for 12 years, said.

The attack will be led by Chelsea reserve Phil Younghusband, who has the best scoring record for the Philippines the past two years, and veteran internationalist Emelio Caligdong, a native Ilonggo.

Younghusband scored six goals in four games during the Asean Qualifiers in Bacolod and is tipped to duplicate his form, after another stellar season with Chelsea reserves, where he was used regularly, playing with the likes of Andrei Shevchenko and Joe Cole, among others.

"We love the country. We love the people and we have a chance to play good football," the London-based Younghusband said of his fourth stint with the national side, after the Hassanal Bolkiah Cup in 2007 and the 2005 Southeast Asian Games.

Fegidero also hopes to draw impressive performances from new goalkeeper Neil Etheridge and the back four of Aly Borromeo, Anton Del Rosario, Jobel Bermejo and Jason Cordova, as well as midfielders Ruben Doctora, Robert Canedo and Arnie Pasinabo.

Along with skipper Caligdong, Phil Younghusband and Chad Gould, they will be expected to start in the first game.

Meanwhile, defending champion Tajikistan downplayed its chances of topping this tournament, although the world rankings show otherwise.

The Tajikistanis are ranked ahead of Asean powerhouses Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam, but coach Kodirov Polod said everybody has an equal chance of qualifying.

"All the teams are very strong and are capable of winning," Polod, whose team faces the 179th ranked Filipinos on Thursday.