The Philippine men’s national football team seeks to salvage a bronze medal when it takes on Tajikistan in the Merdeka Cup at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday.

Kickoff is set at 4:30 p.m. (Manila time) with both squads determined to go all out to avoid going home empty-handed.

The Philippines suffered a 1-2 loss to the Malaysians while the Tajiks absorbed a 0-1 defeat against Lebanon last Wednesday.

Malaysia takes on the Lebanese for the championship at 9 p.m. at the same venue.

It has been six years since the Philippines faced Tajikistan in a football match.

The last time they clashed was on 9 October 2018 at the Bangabandhu Gold Cup with the Tajiks posting a 2-0 victory over the Filipinos in the semifinal.

Now, the Philippines has a chance to get back at Tajikistan while using the tournament as a buildup for the upcoming ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup in December.

Interim head coach Norman Fegidero Jr. said they need to dominate possession against Tajikistan.

“Hopefully we can make a very good preparation. A very good strategy to control, especially if we can avoid the long balls, if possible,” said Fegidero, who replaced Belgian Tom Saintfiet recently.

“But we will see how we adjust against Tajikistan.”