A FAVORABLE draw.
This is what Philippine Football Federation president Mariano “Nonong” Araneta is hoping for as the draw of lots for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup is held Friday evening at the Armani Hotel in the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.
The Philippine Azkals national men’s football team is one of the 12 teams that secured their places in the final tournament by the end of the second round of the qualification process.
The Philippines is in Pot 4 and will be drawn in 1 of the 6 groups for the tournament. The Filipinos are in the same bracket with Bahrain, Jordan, Yemen, and Turkmenistan.
Aside from Yemen, the Philippines and Kyrgyzstan are first-timers in the Asian Cup.
National Team Manager Dan Stephen Palami and team captain Phil Younghusband are attending the draw ceremony.
For the first time, the Asian Cup final tournament will be contested by 24 teams, after it was expanded from the 16-team format that was used from 2004 to 2015.
The other day, the Philippines found itself in another challenging campaign in the 2018 AFF Suzuki Cup as the Azkals were put in a difficult group which includes two-time champion Thailand.