The national men’s football team braces for an all-out war as it faces Vietnam in the second round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifiers and the My Dinh National Stadium in Hanoi.

Kick-off is set at 8 p.m. (Manila time) with the Filipinos determined to win their last matches to secure the second seed in Group F and continue its bid to qualify in the World Cup.

Getting into the third round of the World Cup qualifiers will also give the Filipinos an automatic berth to the 2027 AFC Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia.

With Iraq taking the top spot after four wins in as many games for 12 points, Indonesia sits at second with seven points with a 2-1-1 win-draw-loss record while the Vietnamese has a 1-0-3 record.

The Filipinos have yet to win a game in the second round after a 0-1-3 record for a point in the standings with two more games left in their schedule.

Last year, the Philippines suffered a 0-2 loss to the Vietnamese in their previous collision at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium.

‘Vietnam has local players but they have been assembled for a long time now, skilled and have a new head coach.’

But since then, Vietnam went on a three-game losing streak in the qualifiers, forcing its federation to part ways with its head coach, Philippe Troussier of France, after a 0-3 loss to the Indonesians last 26 March.

The Vietnamese then tapped former Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors head coach Kim Sang Sik of South Korea to help them get out of their slump.

With head coach Tom Saintfiet having some experience in handling the Philippines, including in two World Cup qualifier matches against Iraq, the Nationals look to have a better chance in pulling an upset of the Vietnamese.

Also, local veterans such as Jarvey Gayoso of Kaya FC-Iloilo and Kevin Ingreso of One Taguig FC are expected to be in better game shape after playing in the Philippines Football League.

But Saintfiet knows that underestimating the Vietnamese could spell their doom.

“Vietnam has local players but they have been assembled for a long time now, skilled and have a new head coach,” Saintfiet said.

“We knew what he (Kim) did for Jeonbuk and his style of play but you can never know with Vietnam.”