The outcome was tough, but Philippine national men’s football team head coach Carles Cuadrat refused to let a 1-4 loss to Myanmar define what he believes is a necessary step in their rebuilding process.

Instead of dwelling on the defeat in their opening match of the 2026 ASEAN Championship at the rain-soaked New Clark City Stadium in Capas, Tarlac last Tuesday, the Spanish coach pointed to the bigger picture of his squad leaning difficult lessons under the worst possible conditions.

“It was a lovely match for most of our kids because we should adjust to those kinds of conditions every day in training,” Cuadrat said after the match.

“I think that the Myanmar national team had more experienced players who could manage that kind of game. They were winning because the ball was getting stopped by the water, and they understood what the game needed better than our players. So, unfortunately, we were not able to play our game for most of the match.”

Prior to the match, the Nationals had easily defeated the Burmese, 5-1, in the Tri-Nation Friendlies last June.

This time, however, the Philippines fielded a much younger squad after several overseas-based players were unavailable because the tournament falls outside the International Football Federation (FIFA) international window.

Myanmar, meanwhile, retained much of the squad that had played together in previous matches and used that experience to full effect, led by Than Paing, who scored a brace in the 28th and 83rd minutes.

Kyaw Min Oo and Win Naing Tun also wrote their names on the scoreboard after converting their chances in the seventh and 81st minutes, respectively.

The Spanish tactician stressed that the soaked pitch neutralized the Filipinos’ biggest strength — their ability to keep possession and build attacks through midfield.

“I think that the Myanmar national team had more experienced players who could manage that kind of game. The ball was getting stopped because of the water, and they understood what the game needed better than our players,” Cuadrat said.

“If you see when the grass was a little bit better, we tried to combine and created chances by playing football because that’s the kind of players we have. We have a good midfield. We have players who can really put opponents in trouble, but for most of the match, it was not possible because of the condition of the pitch.”

Still, the Philippines has a chance to turn things around with three more matches remaining in the group stage, with the goal of finishing in the top two of Group B.

The Nationals will fly to Vientiane to face Laos on Saturday before hosting Thailand on 4 August at the same Clark stadium.

The Philippines will then face Malaysia on 8 August at the Kuala Lumpur Stadium.

Jarvey Gayoso, who scored the Philippines’ lone goal in the 69th minute against the Burmese, said he wants the loss to help the team toughen up for its remaining fixtures.

“It’s hard to accept, I think, for the entire team that we didn’t play to the standards that we wanted and expected from ourselves and each other,” Gayoso said.

“But it’s a test of character. We have a lot of young guys who will go through experiences like this. We’ve proven it before with the last campaign, and I think this will be a good lesson for everybody.”