Azkals draw with India,
THE Philippines held India to a 1-1 draw in their second match of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Challenge Cup in Bangladesh Monday night.
The Azkals are now third in their Group with one point and have a slim chance of making it to the final eight.
"I hope to make it to the last eight stage. My players have done quite well in the last game against India and I have confidence in them," RP coach Aries Caslib said in the AFC website.
To make it to the final eight, the Philippines, playing minus top strikers Freddy Gonzales and Chelsea reserves Philip and James Younghusband, must beat Afghanistan and hope the Chinese-Taipei versus India game ends with one team winning by more than two goals.
India and Chinese-Taipei, which defeated the Philippines by one goal last April 2, share the top two spots with four points. Chinese-Taipei was held to a 2-2 draw by Afghanistan in its second game.
However, if Chinese-Taipei and India draw their match, both teams will advance to the quarterfinal round of the Challenge Cup, a tournament created for the bottom 16 teams in Asia.
The Philippines came up with a better showing in the second half of its draw against India, creating chances after chances.
Vimal Pariyar scored in the eighth minute for India before Mark Alvin Valeroso leveled the count 10 minutes later.
"(The) Philippines is a strong team and they played good football. We had to adopt defensive strategy in the second half because our players were tired," said India's head coach Islam Akhmedov.
India is ranked 118th in the world, Chinese-Taipei 157th, Afghanistan 189th and the Philippines 191st. After the Challenge Cup, the country's ranking is expected to improve.
The Azkals are now third in their Group with one point and have a slim chance of making it to the final eight.
"I hope to make it to the last eight stage. My players have done quite well in the last game against India and I have confidence in them," RP coach Aries Caslib said in the AFC website.
To make it to the final eight, the Philippines, playing minus top strikers Freddy Gonzales and Chelsea reserves Philip and James Younghusband, must beat Afghanistan and hope the Chinese-Taipei versus India game ends with one team winning by more than two goals.
India and Chinese-Taipei, which defeated the Philippines by one goal last April 2, share the top two spots with four points. Chinese-Taipei was held to a 2-2 draw by Afghanistan in its second game.
However, if Chinese-Taipei and India draw their match, both teams will advance to the quarterfinal round of the Challenge Cup, a tournament created for the bottom 16 teams in Asia.
The Philippines came up with a better showing in the second half of its draw against India, creating chances after chances.
Vimal Pariyar scored in the eighth minute for India before Mark Alvin Valeroso leveled the count 10 minutes later.
"(The) Philippines is a strong team and they played good football. We had to adopt defensive strategy in the second half because our players were tired," said India's head coach Islam Akhmedov.
India is ranked 118th in the world, Chinese-Taipei 157th, Afghanistan 189th and the Philippines 191st. After the Challenge Cup, the country's ranking is expected to improve.
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