Updated 16.3.2012
The AFC Challenge Cup
The AFC Challenge Cup is an international football competition among emerging nations (as against developed and developing nations) in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
The following nations were classified as emerging nations in the AFC: (1) Afghanistan, (2) Bangladesh, (3) Bhutan, (4) Brunei, (5) Cambodia, (6) Chinese Taipei, (7) Guam, (8), Kyrgyzstan, (9) Laos, (10) Macau, (11) Mongolia, (12) Nepal, (13) Pakistan, (14) Palestine, (15) Philippines, (16) Sri Lanka, and (17) Timor-Leste.
Bangladesh 2006
The first AFC Challenge Cup was hosted by Bangladesh in 2006. Laos, Mongolia, and Timor-Leste were initially selected to participate, but were soon replaced by Bangladesh and India (both from the developing nations class).
Group stage
The Philippines was part of Group A during the group stage, and shared the group with India, Chinese-Taipei, and Afghanistan.
The Philippines played Chinese-Taipei on 1 April 2006. Chinese Taipei’s Chuang Wei-lun scored on the 20th minute. The match resulted in a loss for the Philippines (TW 1:0 PH).
The Philippines played India next on 3 April 2006. India’s Vimar Pariyar scored on the 8th minute, while the Philippines’ Mark Arvin Valeroso scored on the 19th minute. The match ended in a draw (PH 1:1 IN).
The Philippines played Afghanistan last in the group stage on 5 April 2006. Afghanistan’s Sayed Maqsood scored on the 28th minute, while the Philippines’ Mark Arvin Valeroso, again, scored on the 59th minute. The match likewise ended in a draw (PH 1:0 AF).
Results
The Philippines was eliminated from the 2006 AFC Challenge Cup, being merely third in Group A. Lost to Chinese-Taipei, drew India and Afghanistan.
The results for the 2006 AFC Challenge Cup were: Tajikistan, winner; Sri Lanka, runner up. There was no third place match held for Kyrgyzstan and Nepal.
India 2008
The second AFC Challenge Cup was hosted by India in 2008. Bangladesh and India (both from the developing nations class) were invited anew, along with Korea DPR, Myanmar, and Turkmenistan (all, also from the developing nations class). India, Korea DPR, Myanmar and Turkmenistan were automatically qualified, while 16 other teams, in four groups, vied for the other four slots.
Qualification Stage
The Philippines was part of Qualification Group B during the qualifying stage, and shared the group with Tajikistan (the 2006 champion), Bhutan, and Brunei.
The Philippines played Brunei on 13 May 2008. Emelio (Asada) Caligdong scored on the 28th minute, and the Philippines eventually won the match (PH 1:0 BN).
The Philippines played Tajikistan next on 15 May 2008. The match ended in a draw (PH 0:0 TJ).
The Philippines played Bhutan last on 17 May 2008. The Philippines’ Chad Edward (Alesna) Gould scored on the 41st minute. The Philippines’ Philip James (Placer) Younghusband scored two minutes after. The Philippines’ victory over Bhutan was sealed after Bhutan’s Pema Rinchen scored an own-goal (PH 3:0 BT).
Results
Although Tajikistan and the Philippines shared similar win-draw-loss cards, Tajikistan had a superior goal difference (TJ – 6 GD: 7 GF, 1 GA; PH – 4 GD: 4 GF, 0 GA). With only one slot available per qualification group, Tajikistan advanced, while the Philippines was eliminated, being merely second. Won over Brunei and Bhutan, drew Tajikistan.
The results for the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup were: India, winner; Tajikistan, runner up; Korea DPR, third place; and Myanmar, fourth place.
Sri Lanka 2010
The third AFC Challenge Cup was hosted by Sri Lanka in 2010. India, Tajikistan, and Korea DPR were automatically qualified, while 16 other teams, in four groups, vied for the other five slots.
Qualification Stage
The Philippines was part of Qualification Group B during the qualifying stage, and shared the group with Turkmenistan, Maldives and Bhutan.
The Philippines played Bhutan on 14 April 2009. The Philippines previously played Bhutan during the qualifying stage in the 2008 Cup. The Philippines’ Chad Edward (Alesna) Gould scored on the 13th minute. Gould also also the one who scored the initial goal against Bhutan during their previous match in the 2008 Cup qualifiers. The Philippines won the match (PH 1:0 BT).
The Philippine played Maldives on 16 April 2009. The Philippines’ Alexander Charles Luis Borromeo scored first after 11th minutes. Maldives, however, scored three goals thereafter: Ibrahim Fassil on 26th minute (on penalty), Ali Ashfaq on 45th minute, and Mukhthar Naseer on 82nd minute. The Philippines’ Chad Edward (Alesna) Gould scored on the second minute of injury time (90+2′). The Philippines lost to Maldives (PH 2:3 MV).
The Philippines played Turkmenistan last on 18 April 2009. The Philippines conceded an own goal, through Anton Edward (Quimson) del Rosario, on the 26th minute. The Philippines was not able to recover as Turkmenistan scored four goals of their own: Berdy Shamuradov on 54th minute, Mekan Nasyrov on the 58th, Berdy Shamuradov (again) on 63rd, and substitute Didarklych Urazov on the 65th. The Philippines thus lost to Turkmenistan (PH 0: 5 TM).
Results
The Philippines finished third in Qualification Group B, and thus was eliminated. Lost to Maldives and Turkmenistan, won over Bhutan.
The results for the 2010 AFC Challenge Cup were: Korea DPR, winner; Turkmenistan, runner up; Tajikistan, third place; and Myanmar, fourth place.
Nepal 2012
The fourth AFC Challenge Cup was hosted by Nepal in 2012. Unlike the previous editions of the tournament, no team was given an automatic qualification.
Pre-Qualification Stage
The eight lowest rank teams, according to the seedings based on the 2010 AFC Challenge Cup — (1) Afghanistan, (2) Bhutan, (3) Cambodia, (4) Chinese-Taipei, (5) Laos, (6) Macau, (7) Mongolia, and (8) the Philippines — had to go through a pre-qualifying stage. The Philippines was paired with Mongolia.
During the first leg held in Bacolod on 9 February 2011, the Philippines’ Emelio (Asada) Caligdong scored on the 43rd minute while Philip James (Placer) Younghusband scored during the fourth minute of the second half’s injury time (90+4′). The Philippines won over Mongolia (PH 2:0 MN).
During the second leg held in Ulan Bator on 15 March 2011, the Philippines’ James Joseph (Placer) Younghusband scored on the 4th minute. Mongolia’s Donorov Lumbengarav scored on the 22nd minute while Bayasgalan Garidmagnai scored on the 35th minute. Mongolia won over the Philippines (MN 2:1 PH).
The Philippines advanced to the qualifying stage, by virtue of a 3-2 aggregate over Mongolia. Afghanistan (winning 5-0 on aggregate over Bhutan), Chinese-Taipei (winning 6-3 on aggregate over Laos), and Cambodia (winning 5-4 on aggregate over Macau) similarly advanced. The Philippines, Afghanistan, Chinese-Taipei, and Cambodia joined Bangladesh, India, Korea DPR, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Palestine, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan in the qualification group stage.
Qualification Stage
The Philippines joined Palestine, Bangladesh, and Myanmar in Qualification Group A.
Palestine was Group C winner in 2006, advanced but lost to Kyrgystan (1:0) in the quarterfinals. It withdrew from the 2008 Cup. It was eliminated during the qualification stage of the 2010 Cup, finishing third in Qualification Group C. On the other hand, Bangladesh was Group C runner up in 2006, advanced but lost Tajikistan (6:1) in the quarterfinals. It was eliminated during the Qualification stage of the 2008 Cup, finishing third in Qualification Group C. It was Qualification Group A runner up in the 2010 Cup and, as best-ranked second placed team, advanced and joined Group A in the Group stage. It was eliminated as it finished last in said group. Lastly, Myanmar is the 2008 and 2010 Cup fourth placer. (It joined the Cup in 2008, was an automatic qualifier therein, lost to India 1:0 in the semi-finals, and lost to Korea DPR 4:0 in the match for third. In the 2010 Cup, it was Qualification Group A winner, and Group A runner up. It lost to Korea DPR 5:0 in the semi-finals, and to Tajikistan 1:0 in the match for third).
The Philippines played Myanmar (also the Qualification Group venue host) on 21 March 2011. The Philippines’ James Joseph (Placer) Younghusband scored on the 76th minute (via penalty kick) but Myanmar’s Khin Maung Lwin equalized on the third minute of injury time (90+3′). The match ended in a draw (PH 1:1 MM).
The Philippines played Palestine next on 23 March 2011. The match ended in a draw (PH 0:0 PS).
The Philippines played Bangladesh last. The Philippines’ Ian (Bayona) Araneta scored on the 41st minute, while Angel (Aldeguer) Guirado scored on the 55th and 80th minutes. The Philippines won over Bangladesh (PH 3:0 BD).
Palestine and the Philippines were Qualification Group A winner and runner up, respectively. Bangladesh and Palestine vanquished Myanmar (2:0, and 3:1, respectively) to deny the latter the opportunity from progressing and/or replicating its former feat.
The Philippines advanced to the Group stage. It must be noted that the Philippines, at this stage, was the only country, which had to compete for a playoff for the qualification stage, remaining in the Group stage. Chinese-Taipei, Cambodia and Afghanistan have been eliminated (Chinese-Taipei was last in Qualification Group B, Cambodia was last in Qualification Group C, and Afghanistan was third in Qualification Group D).
Group Stage
The Philippines joined Korea DPR, Tajikistan, and India in Group B.
Korea DPR was the 2008 Cup third placer. (It joined the Cup in 2008, was an automatic qualifier, and finished third place [as it lost to Tajikistan 1:0 in the semi-finals, but won over Myanmar 4:0 in the match for third]). Korea DPR was the 2010 Cup champion (It was an automatic qualifier, was Group B winner, won over Myanmar 5:0 during the semifinals, and won over Turkmenistan [1:1 aet, 5:4 pens.] during the finals). On the other hand, Tajikistan was the 2006 Cup champion (It was the Qualification Group D winner, won over Bangladesh 6:1 during quarterfinals, won over Kyrgyzstan 2:0 during semi finals, and won over Sri Lanka 4:0 during finals. Tajikistan was the 2008 Cup runner up. (It was the Qualification Group B winner, was Group A runner up, won over Korea DPR 1:0 during semi-finals, and lost to India 4:1 during the finals). Tajikistan was also the 2010 Cup third placer. (It was an automatic qualifier, was Group A winner, lost to Turkmenistan 0:2 during the semi-finals, and won over Myanmar 1:0 in the match for third). Lastly, India was Group A winner in the 2006 cup. It lost to Nepal 0:3 during the quarterfinals. India was the 2008 Cup champion (It was the host and thus an automatic qualifier. It was Group A winner, won over Myanmar 1:0 in the semi-finals, and won over Tajikistan 4:1 in the finals). India was an automatic qualifier in the 2010 Cup, but was eliminated as it finished last in Group B during the group stage.
The Philippines played the 2010 Cup Champion, Korea DPR, on 9 March 2012. Korea DPR’s Pak Nam-Chol scored on the 58th minute, while his compatriot Jang Kuk-Choi scored on the 70th minute. The Philippines lost to Korea DPR (PH 0:2 KP).
The Philippines played the 2008 Cup champion, India, next on 11 March 2012. The Philippines played India previously during the 2006 Cup’s Group stage, where the match ended in a draw. This time around, the Philippines’ Philip James (Placer) Younghusband scored on the 10th and 73rd minutes of the game. The Philippines thus won over India (PH 2:0 IN).
The Philippines played the 2006 Cup Champion, Tajikistan, last. The Philippines played Tajikistan previously during the 2008 Cup’s Qualification group stage, where the match ended in a draw. Tajikistan edged out the Philippines on goal difference to advance to the 2008 Cup’s Group stage, eliminating the latter in the process. This time around, Tajikistan’s Alexey Negmatov scored on the first minute of the first half’s injury time (45+1′). The Philippines’ Philip James (Placer) Younghusband scored on the 54th minute while Angel (Aldeguer) Guirado scored on the 80th minute. The Philippines thus won over Tajikistan (PH 2:1 TJ).
As a result, Korea DPR and the Philippines are Group B’s winner and runner up, respectively, and advanced to the semi-finals stage. Turkmenistan and Palestine are Group A’s winner and runner up, respectively.
The Philippines’ current success is unprecedented. The team emanated from the eight weakest teams as per 2010 Cup seeding, during the initial stage of the Cup, to gain a place in the 2012 Challenge Cup semi-finals.
Semi-Finals
The Philippines played Turkmenistan, in the semi-finals, on 16 March 2012. The Philippines previously played Turkmenistan during the 2010 qualifying stage, where the Philippines lost 0:5.
Turkmenistan was an automatic qualifier in the 2008 Cup, but was eliminated after finishing third in Group A. Turkmenistan is the 2010 Cup runner up. (It was the Qualification Group B winner, was Group B runner up, won over Tajikistan 2:0 in the semi-finals, but lost to Korea DPR on penalty shootout [1:1 aet, 4:5 pens.] in the finals.).
The Philippines’ Philip James (Placer) Younghusband scored on the 25th minute. Turkmenistan’s Arslanmyrat Amanov countered with a goal on the 80th minute, while Gahrymanberdi Chonkayev scored on the 85th. The Philippines hence lost to Turkmenistan (PH 1:2 TM).
Turkmenistan meets Korea DPR, which won over Palestine (KP 2:0 PS) at the other semi-finals match. This is virtually a rematch of the 2010 AFC Challenge Cup.
Match for Third
The Philippines meets Palestine anew. The last time they played against each other was on 23 March 2011, during the qualification group stage of the current Challenge Cup, which ended in a draw (PH 0:0 PS). As previously noted, Palestine and the Philippines were Qualification Group A winner and runner up therein, respectively.
Last one for this year’s Challenge Cup, Go Azkals!
