Azkals XI tackle Uzbekistan todayGame Today
(Bunyodkor Stadium, Tashkent)
9 p.m. – Uzbekistan vs Philippines
The Philippine Azkals eye a crucial victory against host Uzbekistan as the second round of 2018 World Cup and 2019 Asian Cup qualifiers resume tonight at the Bunyodkor Stadium in Tashkent.
Although out of the running for a spot in the World Cup, the Azkals remain in the hunt to secure a direct berth to the third round of the Asian Cup qualifiers, thus the need to score an upset win over the Uzbeks in their 9 p.m. Philippine time match.
Uzbekistan, currently in second place in Group H with 15 points one off leader North Korea, is favored to beat the Azkals in a manner similar to the 5-1 thrashing held last September at the Philippine Sports Stadium.
Making it tougher for the Azkals of coach Thomas Dooley to pull off the feat are the absences of four key players for various reasons.
Phil Younghusband, who has adopted well to his new role as midfielder, has a knee issue that has kept him out of action for the Loyola Meralco Sparks in the UFL Cup while Stephan Schrock is dealing with a leg injury he sustained while playing for Ceres-La Salle in the AFC Cup.
Misagh Bahadoran and Manny Ott, two of Dooley’s most trusted players on the attack, will each serve a one-match ban for accumulated yellow cards.
Without them, Dooley has added the services of a mixture of veteran and debuting players.
Javier Patino is back in action for the Azkals to man the attack, goalie Neil Etheridge will behind the sticks once again while Ian Ramsey, Simone Rota and Daisuke Sato are also expected to step up.
Uzbeks Sardor Rashidov and Igor Sergeev will be marked man when they battle the Azkals anew. Both produced two goals apiece during the first meeting in Bulacan.
The Azkals, winless after posting two straight victories at the start of the qualifiers, can’t afford to drop points anew since Bahrain can gain possession of third in the group provided it beats bottom-dweller Yemen in Manama.
The Azkals are in third with seven points while Bahrain is a point behind. The third place team is guaranteed of making the third round of the Asian Cup qualifiers while the fourth placer could be relegated to a qualifying playoff.
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http://www.mb.com.ph/azkals-xi-tackle-uzbekistan-today/#mTwehdlaoBGBDXc0.99