The Philippine Azkals hope to resolve their finishing woes even without one of their top strikers as they battle Nepal tonight in the opener of the 2018 Asian Cup third round qualifiers at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.
Misagh Bahadoran won’t be seeing action for the national side in the 8 p.m. affair after sustaining an injury in a goalless draw over Malaysia in their friendly match last Wednesday, thus giving the Azkals another stern test in fixing their struggles in finding the back of the net.
The tie over Malaysia extended the woes of coach Thomas Dooley’s side that began in the disastrous campaign in the AFF Suzuki Cup where the hosts failed to qualify for the semifinals after two draws against Singapore and Indonesia and one defeat over eventual champion Thailand. Also out for the contest is central midfielder Kevin Ingreso (hamstring).
Without Bahadoran, the Azkals hope to have Javier Patino and Phil Younghusband provide the needed scoring against a Nepal team they had beaten numerous times in the past.
