Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 8) – The Philippine Azkals and Yemen settled for a goalless draw to kick off their respective campaigns in the final round of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers on Wednesday at the MFF Football Centre in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
Both teams notched a point in Group B standings as a result of the stalemate.
The Azkals, who are playing their first match under returning head coach Thomas Dooley, displayed superior passing and ball possession skills throughout the match but failed to convert them into a goal.
The Filipino booters dominated the ball at 63% and produced 478 passes than the 256 of their opponents.
Yemen fired six shots on target, compared to the three of Azkals, which either went off the mark or deflected by Filipino star goalkeeper Neil Etheridge.
The biggest threat from Yemen came in the 38th minute when midfielder Ahmed Al Sarori received a long pass off a counter-attack play as he got past Azkals defender Oliver Bias near the box.
Etheridge was present to stop the goal attempt of Sarori in the middle of the box.
Both squads failed to get a good look to score the breakthrough goal in the second half.
The Azkals hope to score a victory against the host country on Saturday and Palestine on June 14 to clinch their second straight Asian Cup berth. The Filipinos need to top the bracket or be among the five best second placers in the whole tournament to earn a trip to the Asian Cup.
