FILE–Philippines during the the Fifa World Cup/Asian Cup Qualifiers. AZKALS PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—The Philippines on Tuesday was drawn in Group A along with powerhouse rival Thailand in the AFF Suzuki Cup which kicks off on December 5.
Also slotted in the same group are Myanmar, Singapore and the qualification winner between Brunei and Timor Leste. Thailand has ruled the tournament five times.
“We wish the Philippine Men’s National Team all the best in the upcoming AFF Suzuki Cup 2020 later this year,” said Philippine Football Federation president Mariano “Nonong” Araneta on the PFF website.
🙌 These are your 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 groups for the #AFFSuzukiCup2020 🙌 pic.twitter.com/z71eHKsjnH
— ASEAN United FC (@aseanutdfc) September 21, 2021
“It will be an interesting competition being held in the midst of the pandemic. Nonetheless, we request all Filipino football fans to rally around our team in its bid to be champion of Southeast Asia’s most prestigious football competition, which had a television audience of almost 200 million during the 2018 edition of the AFF Suzuki Cup.”
Defending champion Vietnam and losing finalist Malaysia banner Group B which also consists of Cambodia and Laos.
In the previous edition in 2018, the Philippine Azkals were booted out by Vietnam in the semifinals.
This year’s tournament, originally scheduled last November, was pushed back twice due to the pandemic. The venue is yet to be announced.