Never-say-die Azkals pull off shocker over mighty North Korea

Buoyed by a small but raucous home crowd and a never-say-die spirit, the Philippine national men's football team struck late to pull off a 3-2 victory over fancied North Korea on Tuesday at Rizal Memorial Football Stadium.

Iain Ramsay scored at the 90th minute for the marginal goal for the Azkals in the joint World Cup and Asian Cup qualifying match.

Moments before that, debuting Miguel Tanton set up Manny Ott for the equalizer at the 84th minute to set up Ramsay's game-winner.

Although out of World Cup contention following three straight defeats prior to this game, the Philippines remains in the thick of things for a berth in the Asian Cup in 2019. The victory assured the Azkals of a spot in the third round of the regional cup qualifiers.

But the home crew had to go through the eye of the needle against North Korea, which repeatedly put pressure against the Azkals defense anchored by Neil Etheridge throughout the match.

While the Philippines scored the first goal courtesy of Misagh Bahadoran at the 43rd minute, the Azkals gave it right back moments later with a So Kyong Jin score.

The North Koreans remained in control until the Azkals' late surge.

The game featured the last international outing for Juani Guirado, who wore the captain's armband after announcing his impending retirement before the match. —JST, GMA News