Donning a blue kit at the Rizal Memorial Stadium while playing in the final third of the pitch may have been familiar for Jarvey Gayoso on Tuesday night, but the circumstances could not have been more different.
The two-time UAAP gold medalist with Ateneo de Manila University played upfront for the Philippines in a 0-5 defeat to 59th-ranked Iraq in front of 10,014 fans, and the disappointment was palpable.
New Philippines coach Tom Saintfiet was apologetic after the match, and for now, it is a case of moving forward for Gayoso and the rest of the Filipinos.
“It was more of a battle against ourselves. I felt like we could have done more. Of course, given the situation and the outcome, we always want to do more. We take a lot of lessons from this and continue to move forward. We continue to stay positive,” said the former Azkals Development Team star.
“I think I’m still confident. There are still a lot of things to take from this game. We stayed competitive as much as we wanted and as much as we could. We did our best to be competitive. The difference in ranking is not an excuse. We know we are capable of keeping a fight.”
After losing 1-0 to the Lions of Mesopotamia a few days ago in Basra, hopes were high that the country could at least get a draw on home soil, but it just wasn’t the case as the visitors were simply too good.
An early penalty from Aymen Hussein set the tone for the visitors, who did not look back. Iraq virtually sealed passage to the next round as early as the halftime break with a three-goal cushion.
Down three goals at the half, the team formerly known as the Azkals tried to recuperate at halftime, only for the Iraqis to deal further damage by scoring twice more before the full-time whistle.
“We wanted to focus on the things that we lacked. Coach (Tom Saintfiet) emphasized being more aggressive and disciplined with our playing style,” said Gayoso.
“There were moments in the game where Iraq was able to capitalize on. He stressed that enough that we shouldn’t be able to give them those opportunities.”
As the national team is under new management, there is an emphasis that the best is yet to come. The new powers-that-be would hope that this is one of the growing pains that the team and its supporters need to endure before they experience those better days.
The Philippines will wrap up its qualification campaign for the 2026 FIFA World Cup this June against Vietnam and Indonesia, and while the nationals aren’t totally out of the running in terms of entering the next round, things are looking bleak as the country only has a point in Group F after four matches.
All the team can ask for is for its fans to keep the faith that things will inevitably get better.
“We can still be competitive. We have a core, we have good support, we have a good staff, and we’re still positive and looking forward,” said Gayoso.
“It’s always a blessing to play for the country and being here at home, we take a lot of pride in being able to represent as much as we can. I could never feel more thankful and blessed for everybody who made an effort to come out here to set this up and have all of this happen.”
