THE Philippine Azkals, ranked among the bottom 16 of the Asian countries seeking berths for the 2014 Fifa World Cup, will most likely meet the same teams they already faced during the last five months.
Their possible foes will come starting from the Asean Football Federation-Suzuki Cup and the Group Stage of the Asian Football Confederation Challenge Cup, which ended recently.
The Azkals, who are ranked no. 43 in Asia, swept past the Bangladesh Bengals, 3-0, to secure one of the two top slots in their group and advance to the Final 8 of the AFC Challenge Cup slated for next year.
Aside from the Azkals, also in the Bottom 16 are the national football squads of Malaysia, Afghanistan, Cambodia, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Mongolia, Pakistan, Palestine, Timor Leste, Macau, Chinese Taipei,
This is the first time that the Philippines is included in the rankings since the Azkals did not join the 2006 and 2008 qualifiers.
Based on the tournament format, the 16 lowest-ranked teams will be divided into eight groups for home-and-away matches to be held on June 29 and July 3.
The drawing of lots for the qualifying matches will be held in Kuala Lumpur on March 30.
Read more at Manila Standard Today
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