THE Philippines emerged from the sprawling Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta, Indonesia late Tuesday night with another 0-2 loss at the hands of the hosts at the close of their second round AFC joint Asian Cup and World Cup Group F qualifying series.
Egged on by a roaring crowd of 64,942 hometown fans, the Indons were dominant from start to finish, with Dutch-born midfielder Thom Haye’s screaming header in the 32nd minute breaking the ice before defender Rizky Ridho added a second goal in the 56th as the hosts comfortably advanced to the next round.
The wards of South Korean mentor Shin Tae-yong took runner-up honors with three wins, one draw and two losses behind topnotcher and first qualifier Iraq, which completed a six-game sweep by dumping Vietnam 3-1 at the Basra International Stadium in the Iraqi city of Basra.
The Filipino booters ended last in the four-team series with a sole point from their 1-all draw with Indonesia when the two sides met at the Rizal Memorial Stadium last November, but can still qualify for the 2027 Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia through the qualifying round scheduled in March 2025.
Despite the defeat, Belgian mentor Tom Saintfiet, who took over the national side three months ago, was philosophical at the post-match conference, saying: “We can build on this team. There are five to six (new players) in the pipeline.
