Azkals battle Kyrgyzstan for possible Round of 16 berth

By Adrian Stewart Co

The Philippine national football team, the Azkals, are set to meet Kyrgyzstan tonight in a do-or-die match in the ongoing 2019 AFC Asian Cup group stage at the Rashid Stadium in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Following losses to South Korea and China earlier in the tournament, the team’s prospects for a top two finish in Group C, which means automatic qualification into the Round of 16, are out. However, a win over Kyrgyzstan would put the Azkals in third place and, if they finish among the top four third-place teams, the Philippines would also advance to the next round.

“We still have hope, though probably small,” said Azkals head coach Sven-Göran Eriksson. “We are not going home yet and we will see what happens in the last group stage game.”

For Azkals striker Philip Younghusband, he likes the team’s chances.

“We have played [Kyrgyzstan] twice in the last few years – played them away, played them home – and we got two wins,” he said. “We have to win the next game.”

However, he acknowledged the situation may have changed since their last meeting.

“This is a different stage; they may have different players, we have different players – it’s a different arena,” added the Davao Aguilas forward./ASC, WDJ