PH Azkals U-23 kickoff Asian Cup qualifiers with loss to Korea

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

The Philippine Azkals opened their 2021 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Under-23 Asian Cup 2022 qualifiers campaign with a loss to defending champions Korea, 3-0.

It was a disappointing start for the U-23 PH Azkals as they begin their quest for an Asian Cup main draw ticket as the Koreans just outgunned them from the get-go.

Despite ending the half with both teams scoreless, the Korean offense was on high gear as they had numerous attempts to score against the PH defense.

The constant pressure finally broke the PH defense seven minutes into the second half as Korea was able to draw first blood off left-back Lee Kyuhyuk’s goal.

The Filipinos put up a more decent defensive approach after the first goal as they were able to deny the Korean attack in the midfield but things got worse 20 minutes later as Ko Jaehyeon doubled the lead with a short stab.

Jeong-in and the rest of the Korean team weren’t done and continued to inflict damage as he headed in a stellar goal for their third conversion in the match.

Despite the loss, the PH Azkals will still have the chance to qualify in the main draw of the 2022 prestigious tournament as long as they finish as one of the four best runners-up.