The Philippine Azkals will face today, the national football team of Laos for the country’s second match in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Challenge Cup which is currently held in the island nation of Maldives in the Indian Ocean territory.
See Also: Azkals vs. Laos Live Coverage, Scores & Results
Photo Credit: AFC Challenge Cup FB Page
The Azkals ended their first match against Afghanistan in a scoreless draw putting the Philippines in danger of elimination if they will be defeated by Laos today, the game will start at around 6:30 PM (PST). The game will be shown live on ABS-CBN’s SPorts+ Action (Studio 23).
Laos was defeated by Turkmenistan during their first outing with the final score at 1-5 in favor of 2012 runner-up, Turkmenistan. The Laotian football squad control the tempo of the game during the first half and even scored their first goal at around 34th minutes courtesy of Khampheng Sayavutthi.
During the first game of the Philippine Azkals the team played without forward Phil Younghusband and veteran defender Rob Gier who were suspended because of their previous violations.
Coach Thomas Dooley of the Philippine Azkals noted that the game against Laos today is the Azkals most crucial game after their goalless draw against Afghanistan.
If the Philippines had an intention of going to the semi-finals of the competition, a four-point score in a must for the team, therefore a victory against Laos is really needed this time.
The Azkals needs to win against Laos so that they will not rely on getting a victory in the last match against Turkmenistan to progress to the next round but winning their last two games will surely benefit the team’s entry to the finals.
The Philippines should not overlook over the Laotians, the only team Southeast Asian Teams that have never beaten by the Philippines in international football match. Laos will surely throw everything against th Azkals as their journey to the next round is also in peril.