Familiarity with their foes will serve as the biggest weapon when the national men’s football team battles Indonesia and Vietnam in the upcoming 15th ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2024 from 23 November to 21 December.

Philippine Football Federation (PFF) national team director Freddy Gonzalez said facing Southeast Asian superpowers Indonesia and Vietnam in the second round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers will be crucial in their bid to come up with a strong finish in the prestigious regional event.

In the draw held in Hanoi on Tuesday, the Filipinos landed in Group B together with Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos while Group A was composed of reigning champion Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia and the winner in the Timor Leste-Brunei play-off.

Gonzalez said being bracketed with the Indonesians and the Vietnamese is not a major concern.

“Even if they have always been tough opponents in ASEAN, our familiarity with the recent Vietnamese and Indonesian squads is beneficial for our team,” said Gonzalez, who also serves as team manager of the national squad.

Prior to the regional tourney, the Filipinos will face the Vietnamese on 6 June at the My Dinh National Stadium before clashing with Indonesia on 11 June at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta.

So far, the Philippines has yet to win in the World Cup qualifiers with Vietnam pulling off a 2-0 win last 16 November while Indonesia settled for a 1-1 draw five days later at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium.

‘Even if they have always been tough opponents in ASEAN, our familiarity with the recent Vietnamese and Indonesian squads is beneficial for our team.’

Still, Gonzalez believes that their next matches with their Southeast Asian neighbors will serve as a perfect warmup in the ASEAN Cup, especially with the core of national team members like Kevin Ingreso of ONE Taguig FC and Jarvey Gayoso of Kaya FC-Iloilo taking the lead.

“Expect a better team in the second FIFA WCQ fixtures against our AFF (ASEAN Football Federation) group mates as these will be our stepping stone for a legit championship run in the ASEAN Championship come November,” Gonzalez said.

“Thanks to PFF president John Gutierrez’s dynamic leadership and the acumen of head coach Tom Saintfiet, football director Vince Santos, and technical director Pep Ferre, we are steering a steadier Philippine men’s football ship.”