PH Azkals yield AFC Challenge Cup Crown to Palestine

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine men’s football team bowed to Palestine 0-1 in the finale early Saturday (Manila time) held in Maldives and missed the chance to take home AFC Challenge Cup crown for the first time.

Ashraf Al-Fawagrah scored the lone goal off a free kick for the Palestinians in the 57th minute even as they dominated the possessions early on.

It was Al-Fawagrah’s sixth goal of the tournament while Palestine concluded the tournament without conceding a single goal, from the group stages up to the one-off finals.

It will be first time that Palestine, which has only been recognized by FIFA in 1998, will compete in the Asian Cup, which will be held in Sydney Australia in 2015.

The Palestinians will be bracketed with Jordan, Iran, and Japan in group D.

The Azkals, meanwhile, failed book a ticket for the AFC Asian Cup as they settled for second place in the biennial tournament.

But it was still the Filipinos’ best finish in the Challenge cup after reaching a previous high of third place in 2012 when they defeated the Palestinians.

“Sorry if we failed you PILIPINAS we tried but fell short. Thank u Daddy God for this opportunity. In victory & defeat, to God be the glory,” tweeted team manager Dan Palami shortly after the match.

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