The national men’s football team is moving on from its sorry 0-2 loss to Indonesia in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Asia Qualifiers late Tuesday at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta.
National team head coach Tom Saintfiet said they are leaving their lackluster second-round campaign behind and look forward to the upcoming friendly matches that will toughen them up for the ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup from 23 November to 21 December and the third round of the 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers on 25 March next year.
The Filipinos had an underwhelming performance in the World Cup qualifiers as they finished at the bottom of Group F with a dismal 0-1-5 win-draw-loss slate. With that, they are relegated to the third round of the Asian Cup qualifiers together with Vietnam, which finished third in the group with a 2-0-3 slate.
“We’re going to use the games in September, October, November to play friendlies, to prepare. But I think the frame of the team is created, I see a strong frame,” said Saintfiet, who coached the national squad in the last four of its six matches in the qualifiers after getting formally appointed only last February.
‘There are no easy games, but an easier chance to get a result, a win, so that we get confidence in the team.’
“I see a lot of quality. I see a lot of young players who are eager to play with the right spirit and I’m very positive that while we have some friendlies. We will choose some friendlies also to opponents who maybe give us an easier chance.”
“There are no easy games, but an easier chance to get a result, a win, so that we get confidence in the team. For me, it was also the first time to meet many of the players so I think we can only grow and I’m really looking forward to it.”
Despite failing to capitalize in their last two matches of the qualifiers, Saintfiet said giving Filipino-foreign players Zico Bailey, Adrian Ugelvik, Dylan Demuynck, Alex Monis, and Scott Woods a call-up is a long-term investment.
Bailey plays for United States League Championship side New Mexico United while Monis competes for Major League Soccer Next Pro club New England Revolution II.
Ugelvik campaigns for 2 Divisjon club Levanger in Norway along with Woods, who plays for Norwegian club FK Eik Tønsberg in the same league. Demuynck, on the other hand, suits up for Belgian club S.V. Zulte Waregem in the Challenger Pro League.
They made their debut when the Philippines suffered a 2-3 loss to Vietnam last 6 June at the My Dinh National Stadium in Hanoi.
“We let five people make their debut. We are changing the team from older age to younger age. We are working on a long-term plan so I don’t feel pressure,” Saintfiet said.
“We had the plan in our heads. The plan is to qualify for the Asian Cup, where we still can, and be competitive to win the Mitsubishi Electric Cup and renew the team.”
This year, the Philippines will be tested anew as it faces Vietnam and Indonesia in Group B of the Mitsubishi Electric Cup. The Filipinos have yet to make it past the preliminaries of the prestigious event since 2018, pressuring them to come up with an impressive result.
Aside from that, they also have to prepare for the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers, where only the top country from the six groups will be given a slot.
