Philippine national men’s football team veterans Sandro Reyes and Santi Rublico banner the Under-23 squad as it competes in the 20th Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, starting 15 September at the CS Asset Minato Soccer Stadium.

Reyes and Rublico, who last competed for the country in the ASEAN Championship last August, will be among the main players to watch as the Nationals return to the Asian Games for the first time since the 1974 edition in Tehran, Iran.

Joining the pool are Michael Baldisimo, Pocholo Bugas and Adrian Ugelvik, who are listed as the three overage players allowed in the squad.

Providing firepower for the Philippines are forwards Andres Aldeguer, AJ Boronda and Janjan Jalique.

Gavi Muens, Javier Lucero, Jax Peña, Dov Cariño, Ryen Lim, Joaquin Collo, Cyrelle Saut and Ethan Smith make up the Philippines’ midfield.

Defenders Noah Leddel, Brian McManus Jr., Jaime Rosquillo, Gabriel Guimarães, Antoine Ortega, Jian Caraig and Mateo Lacson will man the backline for the Philippines.

Completing the squad are goalkeepers Nicholas Guimarães, Patrick Vincent Fye, Fonsi Gonzalez and Iñigo Castro.

Head coach Garrath McPherson will call the shots for the Asian Games after leading the Under-23 squad to a surprising fourth-place finish in the ASEAN U23 Championship in 2025.

Philippine Football Federation president John Gutierrez said having a pool composed mostly of players from the recent ASEAN Championship will give the team the experience and confidence needed to make a deep run.

The Nationals are drawn in Group C with Uzbekistan, Kuwait and Vietnam, with the top two teams advancing to the quarterfinals.

“Well, the U23, essentially, their preparation was the Hyundai Cup because that’s what we’re going to send. As you can see, the players there are all young,” Gutierrez said. Ivan Suing

“But again, this is the strong team that we brought to the SEA (Southeast Asian) Games. It was just a bad break, but that team was the first-ever U23 team to make it to the semifinals.”