Capellas: We will come back

The Philippines vows to storm back following a heart-crushing setback to Thailand in the second leg of their ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup semifinal series on Monday at the Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok.

National head coach Albert Capellas said their 4-3 loss in aggregate to the reigning champion is just the start as they are determined to bounce back and assert their dominance in the biggest football showpiece in Southeast Asia.

“We just arrived at this level. It’s the first time that we are here after a lot of years. We have to learn from this experience,” the 57-year-old Spanish mentor said after bombing out of the semifinals for the fifth time.

“All I can promise is that we’ll learn from this, and we’ll become stronger.”

Despite Capellas getting appointed only last September, he had already made huge strides in the squad that is coming off a listless campaign in the second round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.

With stars like Bjorn Kristensen, Sandro Reyes, Santi Rublico, Paul Tabinas, Alex Monis, Zico Bailey and Quincy Kameraad in their early 20s, the Philippines finished Group B with a 1-3-0 win-draw-loss record to book a return flight to the Final Four for the first time since 2018.

In the semifinals, the Nationals made history as they stunned the Thais. 2-1, in the first leg to mark their first ever victory since 1972.

With their memorable performance in the prestigious regional event, the Nationals have a golden opportunity to improve their core and become more competitive in the international arena, starting with the third round of the AFC Asian Cup qualification on 25 March.

The Filipinos are in Group A with Tajikistan, Maldives and Timor Leste and they need to finish at the top of the standings to advance to the 2027 Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia.

Should the Philippines pull it off, it will be the second time that it will return to Asia’s largest football tournament since 2019 in the United Arab Emirates.

Capellas is calling for more support from both the government and the private sector to improve the squad.

“I hope we get the support from the federation, the government, and from the people who love football, to help us grow football in the Philippines, so we’ll have more games like this,” Capellas said.

“We have to move to the next level. We have to have a more powerful league. We have to develop youth football.”