WHY PHILIPPINES WON’T BE IN QATAR

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Philippines Soccer won’t be represented when hostilities begin at the 2022 FIFA World Cup tournament in Qatar at the end of next year after the country’s senior national team failed to go beyond the second round of qualifiers as far as the Asian continent is concerned.

In the first round, a lot of the teams on the continent were drawn bye and the Philippines were one of those countries. To this effect, Philippines Soccer didn’t make an appearance in the first round of the Asian qualifiers ahead of Qatar 2022. Philippines Soccer made an appearance for the first time in the Asian qualifiers ahead of the next FIFA World Cup tournament in Qatar when the second round of the Asian qualifiers started. In the second round of the Asian qualifiers, the Philippines were drawn in Group A alongside Syria, Guam, Maldives and the Peoples Republic of China (China PR).

The Philippines began the second round of the Asian qualifiers with an emphatic defeat at the hands of eventual group leaders China. They were beaten 5-2 at home and they never really recovered until the qualifiers ended. Philippines missed out on the top two places needed to seal a spot in the next round of the qualifiers but they were still the best of the rest in Group A after finishing in third place with 11 points from eight games. The Philippines had a record of three wins, two draws and three losses from the eight games played. Syria topped the group with 21 points, while China PR ended in second place with 19 points.

In the third round of the Asian qualifiers, China PR have been drawn alongside the likes of Japan, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam and Australia in Group B, while Syria was retained in Group A alongside Iraq, South Korea, Lebanon, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Iran.