Philippines v Tajikistan (2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification)

2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification
Group F

The Rizal Memorial Stadium hosted the match
Event	2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification
Philippines Tajikistan 2 1
Date	27 March 2018
Venue	Australia )
Attendance	4,671

The Philippines v Tajikistan was a 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification match between the Philippines and Tajikistan. It was hosted at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.

The match was significant because of the encounter's outcome. The joy was not only for the Philippines, but it was also shared to Yemen, another team in their qualification group. The match's outcome gave both the Philippines and Yemen their first ever AFC Asian Cup in the two nations' history and was celebrated in both nations. In Yemen, the match was known as the "Miracle of Manila".^[1][2]

Background

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Philippines	5	2	3	0	11	7	+4	9	2019 AFC Asian Cup
2	Yemen	5	1	4	0	5	4	+1	7
3	Tajikistan	5	2	1	2	9	7	+2	7
4	Nepal (E)	5	0	2	3	2	9	−7	2

At the time of the 2019 Asian Cup qualification phase, the Philippines and Tajikistan shared their group with Yemen and minnows

For Tajikistan, they were also in no better position. Although tied on points with Yemen, a worse head-to-head record than the Yemenis (1–2 on aggregate) meant that only a win could give Tajikistan their ticket to the UAE. Tajikistan had repeatedly missed opportunities to qualify for the AFC Asian Cup in their history, from 1996 when they let Uzbekistan make a comeback, eventually losing 4–5 on aggregate; 2000 when they placed second after Iraq; 2004 when they lost to Thailand by just a point and most recently the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup where they lost 1–4 to India, losing their chances of qualifying for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup.^[3]

Tajikistan were edged 3–4 by the Filipinos at home in the two teams' earlier meeting.^[4] Historical encounters also pointed against Tajikistan, with the Philippines remaining undefeated against the Tajiks after two previous draws.^[5] Under such circumstances, a draw for Tajikistan would mean the only way to qualify was for Nepal to make a surprise and defeat Yemen, while for the Philippines, a draw was enough for them to qualify.

Match

Summary

The match began with the Tajiks hurrying to take the first move on the stadium as the confident hosts sought to surprise them at the early minutes.

The second half saw the Philippines having the first chance by Phil Younghusband, but no other player could get into the ball as it went straight to Abduaziz Mahkamov's hands. Then, the Tajiks had a chance to score, but the Philippines' defence reacted quickly. In 61', the visitors suddenly made a breakthrough thanks to a skillful display from Aliev, whom his passing to captain Nuriddin Davronov forced Daisuke Sato to foul him in the penalty area. Akhtam Nazarov successfully converted the penalty to give the Tajiks an important lead in 64'. The Philippines, after being led, increased pressure and it took only 10 minutes for the hosts to equalise. A brilliant pass by Iain Ramsay, after receiving the ball from Phil Younghusband, provided a header for Kevin Ingreso to score. With the Tajiks struggling to find the way to Neil Etheridge's net, a powerful free kick by Ingreso allowed substitute Patrick Reichelt to infiltrate the Tajik defense, giving the hosts an important penalty when Iskandar Dzhalilov kicked Patrick Reichelt's chest. Phil Younghusband converted the penalty to give the Philippines a historic 2–1 lead in front of emphatic home fans. Before the end of the game, Carli de Murga and Jahongir Ergashev collided with each other and was followed by Fatkhuloev punching de Murga's face, causing a brawl in the field. Referee Gillett did not hesitate to give Dennis Villanueva a straight red card before giving Fatkhuloev another yellow card, ultimately reducing both teams to 10 men, but it meant little as the Philippines won the match.^[6]

Details

27 March 2018 (2018-03-27)

19:30 (UTC+8)

Philippines	2–1	Tajikistan
Ingreso 74' P. Younghusband 90+1' (pen.)	Report	Nazarov 64' (pen.)

Australia

)

Philippines

Tajikistan

GK 1 Neil Etheridge CB 14 Kevin Ingreso CB 4 Carli de Murga CB 13 Dennis Villanueva  90+4' RM 3 Simone Rota CM 8 Manuel Ott CM 5 Mike Ott  59' LM 7 Iain Ramsay  88' RF 9 Misagh Bahadoran  71' CF 10 Phil Younghusband (c) LF 11 Daisuke Sato  70' Substitutions: FW 17 Patrick Reichelt  59' FW 23 James Younghusband  71' MF 22 Paul Mulders  88' Manager: Thomas Dooley

GK 1 Abduaziz Mahkamov RB 6 Davron Ergashev  76' CB 5 Iskandar Dzhalilov CB 19 Akhtam Nazarov LB 2 Siyovush Asrorov  43' CM 22 Amirbek Juraboev  79' CM 8 Nuriddin Davronov (c) RW 18 Fatkhullo Fatkhuloev  90'  90+4' AM 21 Manuchekhr Dzhalilov  85' LW 9 Jahongir Aliev CF 10 Jahongir Ergashev Substitutions: MF 12 Romish Dzhalilov  79' Manager: Khakim Fuzailov

Post-match

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Philippines (Q)	6	3	3	0	13	8	+5	12	2019 AFC Asian Cup
2	Yemen (Q)	5	1	4	0	5	4	+1	7
3	Tajikistan (E)	6	2	1	3	10	9	+1	7
4	Nepal (E)	5	0	2	3	2	9	−7	2

The win for the Philippines was the first time in history that they had qualified for a major men's football competition.^[7] The win also provided a significant boost for football in the islands, which had seen a rapid renaissance since 2010.^[8][9]

The Philippines' victory over Tajikistan also meant that Yemen officially qualified for the Asian Cup for the first time ever thanks to a better head-to-head record than Tajikistan. It was considered a great joy for a country torn apart by

The Philippines and Yemen were placed in Group C and Group D of the Asian Cup respectively. Both teams eventually failed in their respective groups, losing every match they played, but the Philippines managed to score a goal thanks to Stephan Schröck.^[12]

References