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MANILA, Philippines – They met twice in the past and the underdogs lost them both.
Will the the third time be different?
The Philippine Azkals will look for revenge and try to snatch their first win against the Turkmenistan Green Men in the final game of Group E of the AFC Challenge Cup Qualifiers in Rizal Memorial Stadium on Tuesday, March 26.
The last time the two teams faced each other, Turkmenistan snatched two late goals in the last 10 minutes of the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup semifinals game in Nepal after the Philippines held on the lead most of the game by a Phil Younghusband goal.
The win gave Turkmenistan a spot in the finals against DPR Korea. The East Asians went on to win the whole tournament and qualify for the Asian Cup in 2015.
The Philippines, on the other hand, finished the tournament with a 3rd place finish after beating Palestine, 4-3, the highest finish the national team ever achieved since joining the regional tournament a couple of years back.
Currently, Turkmenistan is ranked 140 in the FIFA rankings and 114 in the ELO rankings.
The Philippines, on the other hand, is ranked 145 in the FIFA rankings and 155 in the ELO rankings.
The match between the two in the AFC Challenge Cup Qualifiers is being dubbed as the preview of the finals match in the main tournament in Maldives in 2014 being the two highest finishers in the last edition of the tournament.
A win will give the Philippines an outright berth in the main tournament in Maldives with 9 points while a draw will still see the squad at the top of the group due to superior goal difference.
A loss may still see the Philippines making the main tournament being one of the two best second-ranked teams with superior goal difference but a loss of 7-0 or more to the Central Asian squad will jeopardize the country’s chances of making the tournament in 2014.
Waiting in the wings are the two current best second-placed teams in Bangladesh with 6 points and a goal difference of +5 and India with 6 points and a goal difference of +4.
Who do you think will win this match? On what scoreline?
Tune in to our live blog to get more updates. – Rappler.com
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