The Philippine Men’s National Team conceded defeat to Uzbekistan with a 1-5 scoreline in their 3rd match for the 2018 FIFA WORLD CUP RUSSIA™ – ASIAN QUALIFIERS / AFC ASIAN CUP UAE 2019™ – QUALIFIERS (ROUND 2) held at the Philippine Sports Stadium.
Uzbekistan surprised the Philippines with an opening goal on the 1st minute by #9 Odil Akhmerev, followed by 2 more on the 14th minute by #10 Sardov Rashidov and on the 43rd minute by #11 Igor Sergeev ending the 1st half with a 3-0 lead. The Philippines managed to score a goal from a free kick by #17 Stephan Schrock on the 65th minute but was quickly responded to by Uzbekistsan with a counter-attack goal by #11 Igor Sergeev a minute after. Uzbekistan scored their 5th goal on the 80th minute courtesy of Sardov Rashidov.
In the post-match press conference, Uzbekistan Coach Babayan Samvel said that they were successful in implementing their game plan, especially in terms of neutralizing key Philippine players. But he lauded the Philippines for their game, acknowledging its strength and organization as a team. He also said that the next match between the Philippines and North Korea will be an interesting match of two strong teams.
For Philippine Team Head Coach Thomas Dooley admitted that “from the first kick, we started in the wrong direction and after the first goal everything we planned to do was gone. They gained more confidence, obviously they knew where our problems were. Their two player behind the defense were killing us. The game could’ve gone in any direction–good for us, bad for us, but it went bad for us. I told the players we’ve played so many times great games so there’s nothing to be afraid of. We have to play, we have to fight and not give up. And the players did not give up. They were mistakes and we have to learn from those mistakes. We are in a building process, sometimes it doesn’t always go to the direction where you want it.”
Around 7,500 spectators attended the match.