AN Azkals side minus the major pieces faces powerhouse Uzbekistan anew in a road match at the resumption on Thursday of the Asian Qualifiers of the 2018 International Federation of Association Football (Fifa) World Cup Russia at the Bunyodkor Stadium in Tashkent.
Action kicks off at 9 p.m. (Manila time) with the undermanned Azkals trying to avenge a frustrating 1-5 loss to Uzbekistan in their first Group H collision last September at the Philippine Sports Stadium.
The nationals face a more daunting task against a strong Uzbekistan side without several key players, particularly skipper Phil Younghusband and Stephan Schrock.
Younghusband is still nursing a knee injury, while Schrock suffered a leg injury from a recent match with Ceres-La Salle in the Asian Football Confederation Cup in Bangladesh last week. Kevin Ingreso and Stephan Palla are also on the injured list, while Rob Gier, Jerry Lucena and Paul Mulders already hung their jerseys days before the match.
Team mainstays Manny Ott and Misagh Bahadoran will also miss the action because of the second yellow cards they got in a 0-1 home loss to Yemen last November at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.
With the huge blow, Head Coach Thomas Dooley is expected to draw from fresh legs he called out from United Football League in OJ Porteria, Kenshiro Daniels, Dominic del Rosario, Jim Ashley Flores, OJ Clariño and Jorrel Aristorenas.
Dooley will also lean on the remainder of his core players led by goalie Neil Etheridge, Patrick Reichelt, Javier Patino, Juan Luis Guirado, Amani Aguinaldo, Patrick Deyto, Iain Ramsay, Simone Rota, Daisuke Sato Martin Steuble, Luke Woodland, Tomas Trigo and Dennis Villanueva.
Now with a slim chance of making it to the World Cup after a heart-pounding loss to Yemen, the Azkals will try to boost their seven points to tighten their grip of No. 3 that could strengthen their bid for the 2019 Asian Cup.
The second-seeded Uzbekistan, on the other hand, shoots for the Group H lead and add three more points to its 15 markers.
The Azkals flewto Tashkent on Saturday via Incheon, South Korea, with Team Manager Dan Palami, Assistant Coach Aris Caslib and Goalkeeper Coach Pascal Werner Zuberbühler.
After the road match, the Azkals will face North Korea, which is currently on top of Group H with 16 points, on March 29, at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.