The Philippine national men’s football team hopes to get off to a strong start in its ASEAN Championship campaign when it faces Myanmar Tuesday at the New Clark City Stadium in Capas, Tarlac.

Kickoff is set at 6 p.m.

The Philippines enters the competition after falling short of qualifying for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup despite posting a 4-2-0 win-draw-loss record, the same as Tajikistan.

Head coach Carles Cuadrat said the team wants to build on the positives from the Asian Cup qualifiers heading into the ASEAN Championship.

“It is clear that Philippine football is improving. We fought until the end for qualification, and that is something we must build on,” Cuadrat said.

“We are going to prepare for the Hyundai Cup in July. The plan is to keep working and ensure we are ready to compete strongly again in Southeast Asia and aim for the highest stages of the competition.”

The Nationals hold a psychological edge over the Burmese after posting a 5-1 victory in the PFF Tri-Nation Friendlies last June at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium.

However, the Philippines will enter the tournament without striker Bjorn Kristensen as assistant team manager Patrick Reichelt admitted that assembling the squad was challenging because several overseas-based players were unavailable.

“Unlike basically every other country participating in the ASEAN Championship, the majority of our player pool is based outside our local league, making a quick or timely squad announcement impossible as we deal with the difficulty of getting players released during a non-FIFA (International Football Federation) window, especially while clubs are in preseason,” Reichelt said.

“We appreciate the cooperation of a few clubs, but we're also extremely disappointed that while most are releasing their local players to represent their respective national teams, they're blocking Filipino players from participating.”

The Nationals need to finish at least second in Group B to reach the semifinals for the sixth time in the tournament.

The task will not be easy as the group also features Laos and regional powerhouses Malaysia and Thailand.

The Philippines will lean on veterans Sandro Reyes, Santi Rublico, Jarvey Gayoso, Daisuke Sato, and Alex Monis as it seeks to reach the finals for the first time in tournament history.