The Philippines’ Santiago Rublico tries to control the ball against Vietnam’s Phan Tuan Tai during Thursday night’s FIFA World Cup and AFC Asian Cup preliminary joint qualification round 2 match at the Rizal Memorial Stadium. ) Photo courtesy of Frenzy Claire Sadanguel
Azkals in sorry loss in AFC
THE Philippines dropped a 0-2 decision to Vietnam to open its Group F campaign of the FIFA World Cup and AFC Asian Cup preliminary joint qualification round 2 Thursday night.
The 10,378 fans who packed the fabled Rizal Memorial Stadium left disappointed, as the Azkals conceded an early goal, with Nguyen Van Toan opening the account for the Golden Star Warriors.
Nguyen Dinh Bac then added another deep in stoppage time to seal Vietnam’s three points.
Coach Michael Weiss rued the Philippines’ missed opportunities, including one by Santiago Rublico in the 75th minute.
“Considering the pressures and the chances that we had, maybe a draw would be a fair result,” said Weiss.
The Philippines hopes to bounce back when it hosts Indonesia on Tuesday at the same Malate venue.
Vietnam will face Iraq in Hanoi on Tuesday.
The Lions of Mesopotamia prevailed over the Indonesia, 5-1, in their Group F opener at the Basra International Stadium in Iraq on Thursday.
The top two teams of Group F will advance to the AFC Asian Cup and the third qualifying round of the FIFA World Cup. Meanwhile, the bottom two sides will enter the third qualifying round of the AFC Asian Cup.
