The Philippine Under-19 National Team suffered its second straight defeat in 2023 AFC U-20 Asian Cup qualification, a 3-2 narrow loss to Thailand, early Saturday morning, at the Al-Saada Sports Complex in Oman.
The Filipinos drew first blood when defender Martin Joshua Merino found the back of the net after just seven minutes of play.
However, Thai midfielder Thanakrit Laorkai scored the leveler in the 14th minute of the match.
Filipino midfielder Kamil Jaser Amirul then gave coach Christopher Pedimonte’s team the lead anew in the 28th minute.
Unfortunately, the Filipinos’ joy was short-lived once again as the Thais equalized for the second time thanks to Phuwanet Thongkhui’s 41st minute goal.
In the second half, substitute Peeranan Buakai scored the match winner in the 89th minute to break the Filipinos’ hearts.
Each team had a player sent off in that period. Laorkai and the Philippines’ Jared Pena were given their marching orders in the 65th and 79th minutes respectively after both players received their second yellow cards of the match.
The result means that the Philippines is eliminated from U-20 Asian Cup qualification while Thailand leads Group G with six points on the back of back-to-back wins.
The Philippines will close its campaign against Afghanistan tomorrow at 9:00 PM Philippine time.
On the other hand, Thailand will look to seal outright qualification against host nation Oman afterwards at 12:45 AM Philippine time. The Al-Saada Sports Complex will host both matches again.
