Challenge Cup: Azkals grouped with Cambodia, Brunei and Turkmenistan for qualifiers

The group stage qualifiers for the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup have been released and it’s another Group of Death for the Philippines.  The Philippines have been drawn alongside Brunei, Cambodia and Turkmenistan, and with only one team sure of qualification from the group, every game is a must win.

Revenge will be on the Azkals’ mind as they look to repeat their impressive achievement in the tournament this year and potentially knock Turkmenistan out of the competition by doing so. Because only one country is sure of qualification in each in each group, there’s a lot at stake as the Philippines look to continue their climb in Asia.

Format

With the Maldives hosting the final stage in March of 2014, they gain automatic entry, leaving seven slots to fill in the qualification stage. The first round of knockout qualifications has been scrapped in favor of an immediate group stage qualification, whereby the twenty prospective teams are split into five groups of four.

The winner of each group then qualifies for the final stage, while of the five runners-up in the group, only the best two, calculated by points and then goal difference, will join the five group winners and the hosts in the Maldives.

That makes for eight teams in the final stage, who will then be drawn into two groups of four just like in March this year. Those groups will play out a round-robin and the top two in each group will crossover for the semifinal match-ups.

Goal difference will be key in the qualification stage as all group runners-up will competing against four others for just two spots. A single loss could be deadly, while heavy victories will count for much more, as seven points is the maximum any team finishing in second can get. It also means teams will constantly be wary of what happens elsewhere in other groups.

Third-place finish for the Azkals in 2012

The Challenge Cup proved to be a valuable experience for the Philippine National Team as they finished third in the competition earlier this year. Spearheaded by Phil Younghusband’s six goals, on his way to becoming the tournament’s top scorer, the Philippines turned more than a few heads by beating 2006 champions Tajikistan, 2008 champions India, before falling to two-time runners-up Turkmenistan in the semifinals.

Before then, however, they proved to be the only team which qualified through both rounds of qualification, by defeating Mongolia on aggregate, before finishing behind Palestine in the group stage.

The Azkals later defeated Palestine 4-3 in a thrilling third place playoff, and the three victories in the final stage of the competition were the first time the Philippines has ever beaten Tajikistan, India, and Palestine in international football. The Philippines will therefore be hoping to go one step further and get into the Finals of the Challenge Cup and win their first major tournament, to back-up their Peace Cup success earlier this year.

North Korea excluded and Cambodia a question mark

The AFC Challenge Cup is designed for nations classed as ‘emerging’ in Asian football. The AFC Competition Committee thus voted to exclude North Korea’s involvement in the competition after they defended their 2010 title this year and solidified their status as a ‘developed’ footballing nation.

The draw is also complicated by some sources reporting that Cambodia has withdrawn from the competition. This would highly complicate the group stage as the Philippines, Turkmenistan, and Brunei would be at a disadvantage for one of the two runners-up spots, due to the fewer number of games played.   

Early favorites

This leaves the 2014 competition up for grabs. Inaugural Challenge Cup champions Tajikistan, drawn in Group B alongside Kyrgystan, Pakistan, and Macau, are among the early favorites to regain their crown. They are the second-highest ranked team in the competition at 137 in the world.

The top-ranked side in the competition is Turkmenistan, with a FIFA rank 129 in the world, while the Philippines is now rated third in the competition, at 143 in the world. Just like the 2012 Challenge Cup and the 2012 Suzuki Cup, the winner is projected to come from the Philippines’ group.

Whether Turkmenistan, the Philippines, or both countries qualify for the final stage, could have a direct impact on which side wins the tourney.

Final stage in Maldives

The final stage will be held in the Maldives, a tiny country of 330,000 people and just one FIFA standard stadium. The move was quite a surprise, with prominent football figures locally, such as Azkals captain Aly Borromeo, tweeting out their reactions.

Hw do the Maldives beat us to hosting Challenge Cup 2014?? We have 3 decent stadiums in the country and they only hav 1! #PoliticsinFootball

— Aly Borromeo (@alybor11) November 28, 2012

Despite their size though, the Maldives punch well above their weight and are ranked 160 in the world in FIFA rankings. Their highest ranking was 126 back in 2006, while in 2012, they have won three games and lost five against similarly ranked opposition.

Drawn alongside early tournament favorites Turkmenistan, the Philippines will have to be at their best to top the group or claim one of only two runner-up spots. To do so, they must defeat the best team in the competition never to win the Challenge Cup and avenge their 2-1 semifinal loss.

The qualification matches for the Philippines will be played on the 2nd, 4th, and 6th of March 2013, though the Philippines will have home field advantage as they host the qualification group. The final stage will be played from the 8th to the 23rd of March 2014, with the winners automatically qualifying for the 2015 Asian Cup. - AMD, GMA News