BAKU – The Philippine Under-15 Men’s National Football Team (PMNFT U15) debuted in the inaugural FIFA U15 World Cup & Festival, 0-2, versus African power Morocco at Pitch 7B of the Hövsan Competition Complex.
The tournament is the first global competition FIFA has held in the 8v8 format. It brings together the youth national teams of 189 member associations from six confederations, making it the largest FIFA tournament ever in terms of participation. It gives young players from many countries a chance to meet and to show the different ways the game is played around the world.
For the PMNFT U15 members, this is a chance to see how football is played in other parts of the world, providing exposure and experience in their young careers.
It is rare for a Philippine national team to face Morocco or Costa Rica, and the country has never faced Curacao, Liberia, or Belize. All of them are in Group F, giving PMNFT U15 the chance to meet teams from Africa, Central America, and the Caribbean outside the ASEAN and Asian circuits.
Morocco scored twice in the first half. Safouan Bellamine scored in the 6th minute with an outside shot from the top left of the box off his dribble.
Said Noufii made it 2-0 in the 18th minute, finishing with a left-footed strike on his second touch off a right cross from Fah El Assas.
In the second half, Filipino goalkeeper Jordan Tan kept the score at two. He saved Nizar Bouhaddou’s outside shot in the 11th and denied El Assas twice in the second half, in the 34th and 37th minutes.
The Philippines created chances after the break. Quito Pascual’s free kick from the top of the box was saved by Moroccan goalkeeper Albarae El Jerari in the 28th minute, and Paolo Enrique Fernandez’s follow-up shot was also saved. John Zhian Enario’s strike from a right corner went high in the 29th. These chances showed PMNFT U15’s ability in attack against a strong opponent and their effective second half adjustment.
With the result, PMNFT U15 is currently at 5th place following Costa Rica’s 17-0 rout of Curacao and a 1-1 draw between Belize and Liberia.
PMNFT U15, composed of players from NCR, Negros Occidental, Iloilo, Davao del Norte, Masbate, and Filipino standouts based in USA and Spain, plays West African side Liberia on October 25 at 6:30 PM, Philippine time, on Pitch 8A of the Hövsan Competition Complex.
