The Philippine Azkals absorbed an 8-1 loss to China in Wednesday’s international friendly match at Tianhe Stadium in Guangzhou which was held as part of their preparation for next week’s Asian Cup qualifiers.
Misagh Bahadoran prevented an embarrassing shutout loss when he scored in the 33rd minute as the Chinese side displayed the form that made them the world’s 82nd-ranked football nation – 44 places higher than the Philippines.
China set the tone for its lopsided victory with two goals inside 25 minutes.
Not even Bahadoran’s goal, which came off a deflected cross by Iain Ramsay prevented the hosts from dominating the first match between the two nations since 2000.
Coach Thomas Dooley is hoping that the sorry result would still net some positives for the Azkals before they battle Tajikistan in their Asian Cup qualifiers match on Tuesday in Dushanbe.