The Philippine Azkals. | Photo from the Azkals Facebook Page.
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Philippine Azkals will have their backs against the wall after being drawn against tough teams in the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Mitsubishi Electric Cup.
The official draw was held last Tuesday, August 30, 2022, in Bangkok, Thailand.
The Philippine Azkals were drawn under Group A along with the defending champion Thailand, powerhouse Indonesia and Cambodia.
Meanwhile, Timor Leste and Brunei need to play it out in a qualifying match to complete Group A’s competing nations.
On the other hand, Group B is comprised of Southeast Asian Games defending champions Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Myanmar, and Laos.
The upcoming tournament will run from December 20 to January 16, 2023. The matches will be played in various cities across Southeast Asia in a home-and-away format same as the previous edition.
In the last edition of the AFF Cup which was previously co-presented by Suzuki, the Azkals were eliminated from the tournament after losing to Thailand, 1-2, at the National Stadium in Singapore.
The Azkals will face Cambodia in the opening match on December 20, 2022, with the venue yet to be determined.
The most recent international competition the Azkals vied on was the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup where they settled for second place in Group B.
Despite their decent group stage finish, the Azkals failed to qualify for the next round after losing to Palestine, 0-4, in one of their group stage matches. /rcg
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