The Philippine Men’s National Team’s chances of advancing to the next round of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers, took a hit after Iraq came away with a 0-5 win last Tuesday, 26 March 2024 at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila.
The loss saw the Philippines in fourth place of Group F with one point after four matches. Iraq remained in pole position with 12 points, while Indonesia are not far behind with seven points, and Vietnam with four.
Head coach Tom Saintfiet, who made his home debut, received a boost as Santiago Rublico made his return to the starting lineup after missing out the last match due to suspension.
However, it was Iraq that took the early lead after Aymen Hussein converted from the penalty spot in the 14th minute. Amir Al Amman doubled the advantage in the 30th minute before Hussein netted his brace six minutes later.
Second half goals from Zidane Iqbal (62’) and Zaid Tahseen (77’) completed the rout.
“I’m very disappointed but I’m also very sorry,” said Saintfiet. “I would like to say my apologies to the 10,000 fans in the stadium and also the people who were watching at home. My apologies for the big defeat, and also my thanks for the big support from the fans’ side. The fans were behind us for the whole 90 minutes, and I really would like to thank them and once again say sorry for the very disappointing result.”
Philippines goalkeeper and team captain Neil Etheridge echoed Saintfiet’s words as the Men’s Team have two more matches left in the qualifiers.
“It’s a learning curve for us, and we know that we have a big task at hand,” said Etherdige. “Realistically, we need six points.”
The Philippines will next face Vietnam and Indonesia in the next window scheduled on June 2024.