Philippine Azkals vs Bahrain: FIFA World Cup Qualifying Preview, Live Stream & Where To Watch
Philippines and Bahrain will resume their campaign in the ongoing AFC World Cup Qualifier on Tuesday in Bahrain.
Host Bahrain are expected to go all out as they will be playing in front of their passionate fans despite the fact that their chances of advancing to the next round of the FIFA World Cup Qualifier are already slim after losing in three of their first four matches.
Bahrain are coming off a tough 0-4 defeat to Uzbekistan, who are one of the favorites to top Group H. While their confidence are low at this point, playing the Azkals is enough motivation for the team after taking a 2-1 defeat to the Philippine squad during their first meeting in June.
"We can never underestimate Bahrain," Azkals team manager Dan Palami told Philippine Daily Inquirer. "They've just come off of 4-nil loss to Uzbekistan here at home and they'll all certainly look to redeem themselves in front of their countrymen."
Bahrain coach Sergio Batista also told The Philippine Star that they have a must-win mentality in their remaining games. While it will be hard for them to qualify to the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Batista said that they are still going to play with sense of urgency because they are eyeing a spot in the Asian Cup.
However, Palami also added that the confidence of their players are high after holding Group H favorites North Korea to a scoreless draw in Pyongyang last week.
A win for the Azkals against Bahrain will put them in a good position to advance to the third round of the qualification round. Palami also pointed out that they are determined to prove that their 2-1 win against Bahrain was no fluke.
"We're hoping that somehow, despite the motivation of their team, we'll also be able to get the result that we want, which is a win, so we'll still be in the hunt for a qualification in the third round," Palami said. "We need to show Bahrain that the first leg is not a fluke and we're already in a position to beat them."
Where To Watch & Live Stream
The Philippines-Bahrain FIFA World Cup qualifying match will kick off at 11 a.m. ET. Broadcast schedule and live streaming information are available on Live Soccer TV.
* This is a contributed article and this content does not necessarily represent the views of latinpost.com