The Philippine Azkals. (Photo : World Cup Qualifier)
Mercurial team Philippines (2-2-1, 7 points) will play lowly Yemen (0-0-5, 0 points) at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila on November 12 for a Group H second round match in the AFC 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
The Azkals beat Al-Yemen A'Sa'eed, 2-0, during their first encounter at the Suheim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha when winger Misagh Bahadoran and left back Iain Ramsay scored a goal each en route to the convincing victory.
Yemen home games are played in Qatar because of security concerns regarding the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in the Yemeni Civil War.
The Philippines were upset by Bahrain, 2-0, in their last match of the tourney at the Bahrain National Stadium in Riffa on October 13 to deny them of the second spot in Group H and an outright slot in the third round of competitions, via the Gulf Digital News.
Meanwhile, Yemen kept up with powerhouse North Korea but ultimately dropped a 0-1 decision at the Kim Il-sung Stadium in Pyongyang also on October 13, as reported by ESPN.
North Korean striker Jong Il-gwan had the lone goal of the match with a penalty kick at the 12th minute then both teams tightened up their defenses to remain scoreless until full time.
It was an outstanding effort for Amin Al-Sunaini's side and if they can carry that over against their next match, then they will have a chance to upset the Philippines.
However, Thomas Dooley's Azkals are keen to overtake Uzbekistan in the Group H standings and winning this one versus Al-Yemen will give them the opportunity to do so.
The predicted result is the Philippines over Yemen, 3-1.
Philippines starting lineup (4-2-3-1 formation): Etheridge; Palla, Sato, Aguinaldo, Ott; Ingreso, Schröck; Reichelt, Lucena, Steuble; Younghusband
Yemen starting lineup (5-4-1 formation): Ayash; Omar, Al-Radaei, Al-Jarshi, Al Zubairi, Boqshan; Al-Hubaishi, Anbar, Abdullah, Al-Sarori; Al Hagri
