Azkals grouped with Yemen, Nepal in Asian Cup qualifiers

MANILA, Philippines — After the AFF Suzuki Cup which the Philippines co-hosted along with Myanmar last November, the Philippine Azkals are setting their sights on the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers.
 
The Azkals, the No. 1-ranked ASEAN team and No. 122 in the world, are bracketed with Tajikistan (No. 132), Yemen (No. 149) and Nepal (No. 175) in Group F.
 
Twenty  other teams have been bracketed in their respective groups, including Kyrgyzstan, India, Myanmar and Macau (Group A); North Korea, Hong Kong, Lebanon and Malaysia (Group B); Jordan, Vietnam, Afghanistan and Cambodia (Group C); Oman, Palestine, Maldives and Bhutan (Group D); Bahrain, Turkmenistan, Chinese Taipei and Singapore (Group E).
 
The top two teams from each group will qualify for the final competition of the AFC Asian Cup in 2019 hosted by United Arab Emirates.
 
The winners will join defending champions Australia, China, Iraq, Iran, Japan, South Korea, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Uzbekistan and the host country. 
 
These teams have qualified to the final competition via the 2018 FIFA World Cup and AFC Cup Preliminary Joint Qualification Round 2. 
 
The AFC Asian Cup qualifiers will begin this coming March 28.