MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Azkals immediately clinched a semifinal berth in the 2018 Bangabandhu Cup after winning their first match over Laos, 3-1, on Wednesday, October 3, in Bangladesh. 

Laos – which also lost to host Bangladesh, 0-1, on Monday – fell out of contention for the knockout stages as it wound up at the bottom of Group B.

The Philippines and Bangladesh earned 3 points apiece and will clash for the top of the table on Friday, October 5, 6:30 pm (8:30 pm, Manila time)

A hard foul in the box from the Lao side allowed Jovin Bedic to open the scoring in the 44th minute by converting from the spot. 

In the 53rd minute, Jarvey Gayoso – one of the youngest members of the squad – doubled the lead by heading the ball into the back of the net for his first senior international goal.

The Laotians fumbled with a handball foul that gave captain Misagh Bahadoran the chance to triple the lead. The Azkals veteran scored a successful penalty kick in the 82nd minute which sealed the victory for the Philippine Azkals. 

However,  Laos got on the scoreboard in the 88th minute after the Hikaru Minegishi committed a mistimed slide tackled that conceded a penalty. – Rappler.com