THE Philippine Azkals ushered their World Cup dream with a pulsating upset of favored Bahrain, 2-1, last Thursday in the first round of the WC qualifiers at the packed Philippine Sports Stadium in Bulacan.
With a lineup touted as the strongest the country has ever assembled, the Azkals showed resilient defense and scathing offense in upending the Middle East football powerhouse.
It was the Azkals’ first win over Bahrain in an official international match earning three points in Group H.
After a scoreless first half, the Azkals went to work in the second with Global FC super star Misagh Bahadoran breaking the scoring ice in the 51st minute, finding the back of the net from a perfect pass from Phil Younghusband.
The Azkals, ranked 137th by FIFA drove the final nail on the 106th-ranked Bahrain’s coffin with a 60th minute goal by Fil-Spanish striker Javier Patiño from Manny Ott’s free kick.
Bahrain was able to save whatever was left of its tattered pride by scoring in the 92nd minute courtesy of Abdulwahab Al Malood.
The win was sweet revenge for the Azkals who lost to Bahrain in a friendly match last March in the latter’s home turf.
The Philippines is grouped alongside Bahrain, Uzbekistan, North Korea and Yemen, in the first two rounds of the home-and-away matches.
The top two squads in the group will move on to the third round.
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.
