THE Philippines was drawn with familiar rivals Tajikistan, Maldives and Timor Leste in Group A of the 2027 AFC Asian Cup third and last round qualifiers during the draw at the Asian Football Confederation headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia yesterday afternoon.
To be played on a home-and-away two-round series, only the topnotchers of the six qualifying groups will advance, completing the 24-team cast that will see action in the men’s football continental championship from Jan. 15 to Feb. 8, 2027 in the Saudi cities of Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam and Al-Khobar.
As a result of the draw, the charges of Spanish coach Albert Capellas will kick off their bid against Maldives on March 25, 2025, then June 10 versus Tajikistan, vs. Timor Leste on Oct. 9 and 14, Maldives again on Nov. 18 and then Tajikistan on Mar. 31, 2026.
The last time Filipino footballers played in the AFC Asian Cup was in 2019 in the United Arab Emirates, dropping all of their three matches in Group C against South Korea (0-1), China (0-3) and Kyrgyzstan (1-3) under veteran Swedish coach Sven-Goran Erikkson.
The Philippines is set to play its opening match against Myanmar in Group B of the Asean Football Federation Mitsubishi Electric Cup on Thursday at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium.
