Cautious Azkals battle Yemenis in Doha Tuesday

DOHA—The Philippine Azkals need not look far to know what could happen if they don’t bring their A-game against Yemen in their World Cup Qualifying clash at 7 p.m. (midnight in Manila) here on Tuesday.

“We beat Bahrain which was ranked 30 places higher than us, so there’s no reason that Yemen which is ranked lower than us, can’t do the same,” said Azkals coach Thomas Dooley, whose side opened their qualifying campaign with a 2-1 win over Bahrain at home last Thursday.

The Azkals are looking to seize control of what many consider as the strongest group of the second round. Group H also includes Uzbekistan and North Korea.

Yemen absorbed a narrow 0-1 loss to North Korea in their opener last Thursday.

“They (Yemenis) are ranked around the 170s but that’s obviously not a true reflection of the team because they have a lot of quality,” said defender Rob Gier.

The Yemenis have no shortage in motivation, bucking tough odds just to get to this dusty Qatari capital. Due to the country’s civil war, members of the Yemen team had to take an 18-hour boat ride to cross the Red Sea.

The Azkals suffered another blow with Simone Rota joining Stephan Schrock in the injured list after hurting his knee Saturday.