Philippines and Yemen will round out the list of participants in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup following the Azkals’ dramatic 2-1 win over Tajikistan on Tuesday night at Rizal Memorial Stadium.
With the score tied at 1-1 in front of a raucous main stand, the Azkals booked their tickets to the UAE when veteran striker Philip Younghusband scored his 50th international goal from the penalty spot in stoppage time.
The dramatic moment in Manila ensured that Philippines would top Group F with 12 points, while Yemen would automatically finish runners-up with seven points thanks to their head-to-head record against Tajikistan.
Tuesday’s results concluded the qualifying process which began on March 12, 2015, when Yemen were amongst the teams who participated in the first round of joint 2018 World Cup/2019 Asian Cup qualifying.
Joining Philippines as first-timers will be Kyrgyzstan, who finished runners-up to India in Group A.
Yemen, who last participated in the tournament as South Yemen in 1976, are one of several teams who will participate for the first time in over a decade: Lebanon and Turkmenistan last qualified in 2000 and 2004 respectively, while Vietnam and Thailand participated as co-hosts in 2007.
The draw for the tournament will take place on May 4 in Dubai, with teams seeded into four pots based on their April 2018 FIFA rankings.
2019 AFC Asian Cup Qualified Teams (by subregion)
West Asian Football Federation: UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Oman, Bahrain Yemen
Central Asian Football Association: Iran, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan
South Asian Football Federation: India
Asean Football Federation: Australia, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines
East Asian Football Federation: China, North Korea, South Korea, Japan
