IT’S do-or-die time for the Philippines and Vietnam today in their penultimate joint World Cup and Asian Cup second round qualifying match at the My Dinh National Stadium in Hanoi, Vietnam.
With a woeful record of three losses and a draw, the Pinoy booters are in the bottom of the four-team standings in Group F with one point while the Vietnamese were in third with three points.
The loser in the 7 p.m. match (8 p.m. in Manila) will be boosted out of the running in the next stage of the World Cup qualifiers.
Pacesetting and spotless Iraq, which has already booked a spot in the next round with 12 points on four wins, faces second placer Indonesia, with two wins and a draw worth 7 points, in the other match at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta.
Aware of the tough odds the Filipino ballers are facing, Belgian coach Tom Saintfiet opted to take a long view, saying on the eve of the Vietnam clash that “my goal is not to win tomorrow but to build a (winning) legacy for Philippine football for the next five to 10 years.”
Saintfiet said this explains why he was virtually making a total overhaul of the squad by bringing in fresh legs and new faces because “we want to aim for the 2027 Asian Cup and then we want to aim for the 2030 World Cup with new players.”
The Belgian tactician, however, did not throw in the towel against the hosts, saying: “We are well-prepared. We made changes, with some new players. The Philippines and Vietnam have played 21 times, and Vietnam have won 18.
“We’ve won only twice, with the last one in 2012. Sure, Vietnam is the favorite, but we come here trying to get the three points. That’s the intention, even if we know it’ll be difficult.”
One of those wins was a 1-0 upset of the Vietnamese at the same arena in 2010 that paved the way for the Filipinos’ first semifinals in the AFF men’s football championship, then known as the Suzuki Cup.
