The Philippines v Tajikistan was a 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification match between the Philippines and Tajikistan. It was hosted at the Rizal Memorial Stadium. The match was significant because of the encounter's outcome. The joy was not only for the Philippines, but it was also shared to Yemen, another team in their qualification group. The match's outcome gave both the Philippines and Yemen their first ever AFC Asian Cup in the two nations' history and was celebrated in both nations. In Yemen, the match was known as the "Miracle of Manila". Background </onlyinclude> At the time of the 2019 Asian Cup qualification phase, the Philippines and Tajikistan shared their group with Yemen and minnows Nepal. All four had previously never made a debut in the tournament. Until the final match, Nepal was officially eliminated, but the rest still held some chances. The Philippines had the brightest prospect among all, having achieved two wins but still only two points ahead of both Yemen and Tajikistan. A defeat for the Philippines meant that the country had to wait for the encounter between Yemen and Nepal, which limited the chance of them to qualify. The Filipinos had already missed an opportunity back in 2014, when they lost to Palestine in the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup Final. For Tajikistan, they were also in no better position. Although tied on points with Yemen, a worse head-to-head record than the Yemenis (1–2 on aggregate) meant that only a win could give Tajikistan their ticket to the UAE. Tajikistan had repeatedly missed opportunities to qualify for the AFC Asian Cup in their history, from 1996 when they let Uzbekistan make a comeback, eventually losing 4–5 on aggregate; 2000 when they placed second after Iraq; 2004 when they lost to Thailand by just a point and most recently the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup where they lost 1–4 to India, losing their chances of qualifying for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup. Tajikistan were edged 3–4 by the Filipinos at home in the two teams' earlier meeting. Historical encounters also pointed against Tajikistan, with the Philippines remaining undefeated against the Tajiks after two previous draws. Under such circumstances, a draw for Tajikistan would mean the only way to qualify was for Nepal to make a surprise and defeat Yemen, while for the Philippines, a draw was enough for them to qualify. Match Summary The match began with the Tajiks