Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Manila: Yemen picked up their first three points of the 2018 FIFA World Cup/2019 AFC Asian Cup joint-qualifiers on Thursday when second-half substitute Ahmed Al Sarori scored a late winner as the Group H strugglers stunned the Philippines with a 1-0 victory.
The hosts dominated the majority of the match at the Rizal Memorial Stadium only for 17-year-old Al Sarori, who entered the fray in place of Waleed Al Hubaishi with 20 minutes remaining, to score the match winner in the 83rd minute with Yemen’s first goal of the qualifying campaign.
While Yemen’s first three points of the qualifiers didn’t improve their standing, with Amen Al Sunaini’s side still sitting at the foot of the table, defeat was a major blow in the Philippines’ quest to close the gap on frontrunners DPR Korea and Uzbekistan.
With the Uzbeks defeating the North Koreans 3-1 on Thursday to move to within one point of the Group H leaders, the Azkals’ surprise loss to Yemen sees Tom Dooley’s side remain on seven points, five behind Uzbekistan and just one ahead of fourth-place Bahrain, who have played a game less than the Philippines.
The group winners and four best runners-up (total 12 teams) will advance to the 2019 AFC Asian Cup finals and the final round of qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
The next best 24 teams from the preliminary stage of the joint qualifiers will compete in a separate competition for the remaining slots (12 slots or 11 slots + 1 slot for the host) in the 24-team 2019 Asian Cup.
Photo: AFP