The Philippine Azkals celebrate their come-from-behind win against Afghanistan in a friendly at the Rizal Memorial Stadium, September 12, 2023. File photo by Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News.MANILA — The Philippine men's football team is up for a tough task in the final round of the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 Qualifiers next year.

This, after the Philippine men’s national football team was grouped with Tajikistan, Maldives, and Timor-Leste in the third and final round of the qualifiers which will be played starting March 2025.

The draw was made on Monday at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia.

The nationals will be facing Maldives on March 26 and November 18, 2025, Tajikistan on June 10, 2025, and March 31, 2026, and Timor-Leste on October 9 and 14, 2025 in venues and times that are yet to be announced but are on a home and away basis.

Meanwhile, Group B consists of Lebanon, Yemen, Bhutan, and Brunei Darussalam, Group C has India, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Bangladesh, and Group D has Thailand, Turkmenistan, Chinese Taipei, and Sri Lanka.

Group E, on the other hand, is composed of Syria, Afghanistan, Myanmar, and Pakistan, while Vietnam, Malaysia, Nepal, and Laos complete Group F.

Only the winners of each group will advance to the 2027 AFC Asian Cup which already has 18 teams that are qualified, namely: Saudi Arabia (hosts), Australia, Iraq, Iran, Uzbekistan, Qatar, UAE, Japan, South Korea, Oman, Palestine, Bahrain, Jordan, China, Indonesia, North Korea, Kuwait, and Kyrgyzstan.