Brave Azkals force scoreless draw against North Korea

MANILA, Philippines -- The Philippine Azkals gallantly stood their ground against powerhouse North Korea to get a point and revive their chances in the 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers after a scoreless draw on Thursday in Kim Jung-Il Stadium in Pyongyang City.

The draw was a positive result for the Azkals, who survived the match against the dangerous home team backed up by 50,000 crowd.

The Azkals momentarily returned to second spot with seven points (2-1-1 win-draw-loss). North Korea remained on top of Group H with 10 points (3-1-0) despite dropping a point for the first time in the qualifiers.

Prior to this match, North Korea stormed to the top of their group with three straight wins including a 4-2 victory over favorite Uzbekistan last June.

Uzbekistan, which dealt the Azkals a 5-1 beating last month, momentarily slid down to third spot with six points (2-0-1). Uzbekistand and Bahrain will face off later in the day.