The Philippine national men’s football team is one leg away from the championship round as it faces defending champion Thailand once more in the ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup semifinals at the Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok.
Despite having the 2-1 lead on aggregate, the Nationals will be entering the Thai capital still determined and hungry as they attempt to endure 90 more minutes of hell when kick-off starts at 9 p.m. (Manila time).
The Philippines made history last Friday at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila after stunning the War Elephants, 2-1, in the first leg of the two-legged semifinals.
This is also the first time in 52 years the Filipinos notched a win over the Thais since its 1-0 victory in the Jakarta Trophy on 12 June 1972.
For Philippines head coach Albert Capellas, they need to recover fast as they brace for a tough fight against the War Elephants, the most successful squad of the tournament with seven titles.
“I want to be sure now the players recover fast. Again, try to find the balance inside of the team, because we have a very important game in three days,” Capellas said.
“We have to travel, also Thailand has to travel. We will try to qualify for the final and we will do our best.”
Midfielder Sandro Reyes, who was hailed as the Man of the Match against the Thais, agrees with Capellas as he wants to play in the final of the competition.
Should the Nationals beat Thailand again, they will be going up against Vietnam or Singapore, which are competing in the second leg at the Viet Tri Stadium in the Phu Tho province of Vietnam at press time.
“We have a really difficult second leg coming up, and we want to play the final here at home. We’ll give everything to make that happen,” Reyes said.
The Philippines will be bracing for a tough time inside the War Elephants’ home base.
With a seating capacity of 51,560, the Rajamangala Stadium is expected to be filled with highly-partisan Thai supporters, making it a fortress for their national team.
Since their 0-3 loss to South Korea in the second round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers last 26 March, the War Elephants have yet to experience defeat at their home stadium this year.
Thailand head coach Masatada Ishii said they will re-watch the game to better understand how to counter the Philippines in the second leg.
The last time the War Elephants missed the finals was back in 2018 after losing to Malaysia on away goals despite the aggregate score at 2-2.
“After this, we have to see how we lost two goals in this game. We have to look at how to fix it,” Ishii said.
“In order not to lose another goal, think about the players who will be sent to the field in the second game against the Philippines. Everyone may be worried, but I believe we can come back.”