Azkals yield to Syrians

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Azkals limped to a 2-5 defeat to Syria as their bid in the joint qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup and 2023 Asian Cup got to a nightmarish start Thursday night at Panaad Stadium in Bacolod City.

The Eagles showed why they’re 39 spots higher than the Azkals in the world rankings, putting up an impressive performance that completely wiped out Javier Patino’s sixth-minute header and sent them into the early lead in Group A with three points and a +3 goal difference.

The Filipino booters, who are missing top goalkeeper Neil Etheridge of Cardiff due to injury, will try to bounce back on Tuesday when they play lower ranked Guam (190th) on the road.

The Matao also dropped their opening assignment, 0-1 at the hands of Maldives also at home.