The Philippine Azkals showed a tremendous performance as they faced Fiji for the first time and finished them off powerfully with the score of 3-2 yesterday, March 22 at the Rizal memorial stadium.

The game was a good preparation for the Azkals because they will be playing their last match of the qualifiers against Tajikistan in March 27 which will be their ticket to the AFC Asian Cup at UAE in 2019.

Azkals immediately showed off their skills as Phil Younghusband convert a penalty kick into a goal during the 29th minute of the game.

It was quite difficult for the team to keep the momentum due to the fact that Fiji showcased a much faster pace but eventually, the boys coped and kept their opponent scoreless during the first half.

As the second half commenced, Hikaru Minegishi fires a goal at the 52nd marker of the game followed by Kevin Ingreso who aggressively attacked the goal during the 61st minute, making it a three-point lead for the Philippines.

As of the 70th minute of the battle striked, Fiji started warming up to the home team as they leveled up their game and made it difficult for the Azkals to follow through. 

During the 74th minute, Ame Votoniu pulls one back and gave Fiji its first goal of the game.

Fiji started to make up for their scoreless first half as they hit another goal at the 81st mark with a penalty kick by Krishna Roy after Nick O’Donnell clashed with him in the mid-air. Within those five minutes, Fiji definitely showed the Philippines they are something else as well.

After their 3-goal lead turned one, the Azkals kept their selves at their best defense possible for the game not to force into an extension or a draw.

The Philippine National Football team will be battling Tajikistan on March 27, Tuesday 7:30 PM at Rizal Memorial Stadium.