Manila – Three matches of the Philippine Azkals in the FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) World Cup Qatar 2022/Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup China 2023 Preliminary Joint Qualification Round 2 has been postponed due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak.
According to the Philippine Football Federation, FIFA and the AFC decided to postpone the matches scheduled on the FIFA international windows on March 23-31 and on June 1-9 after having a consultation with the AFC Member Associations.
Among the Azkals matches affected by the postponement are against Guam on March 26, versus China on June 4 and opposite Maldives on June 9. These games are to be scheduled to later dates upon further discussions between FIFA and AFC.
Football teams, however, upon mutual agreement, may still hold their matches during the FIFA international match window, as long as approved by both FIFA and AFC.
The said two footballing bodies will continue to assess the situation of COVID-19 and will decide whether further changes to the schedules of qualifying international matches are required – aiming to protect the safety and health of all individuals of the footballing world.
So far, the Azkals have played five matches in the joint qualification tournament. They won two games, lost two and settled for a draw.
The national football team’s victories came at the expense of Guam (4-1 on Sept. 10) and Maldives (2-1 on Nov. 14), while its two defeats were against Syria (5-2 on Sept. 5 and 1-0 on Nov. 18). The Azkals’ draw was a scoreless one against China in Panaad Stadium in Bacolod City, Negros Occidental on Oct. 15./PN
