A valiant effort was not enough for the Philippine Men’s National Football Team as seven-time champion Thailand found a late breakthrough to hand the hosts another setback.
The Philippines saw its hopes of reaching the knockout stage of the ASEAN Hyundai Cup 2026 take another hit after suffering a 1-0 defeat to Thailand on Tuesday before 2,786 fans at the New Clark City Stadium in Tarlac.
Thailand right-back Waris Choolthong delivered the decisive blow, heading home in the 84th minute to break the deadlock and lift the War Elephants to victory.
The visitors pushed for an insurance goal in the closing minutes, but goalkeeper Patrick Deyto kept the Philippines within striking distance with several key saves. However, the side formerly known as the Azkals failed to create a meaningful late chance to salvage a point.
It was a frustrating result for the Philippines, which matched Thailand stride for stride for much of the contest. Gavin Muens and Javier Mariona both had promising opportunities in the opening half, but neither was able to test the goalkeeper.
With its third straight win, Group B leader Thailand improved to nine points and moved within touching distance of a semifinal berth with one match remaining.
The Philippines, meanwhile, dropped to fourth place with three points from one win and two losses.
Myanmar and Malaysia occupy second and third place, respectively, with six points each. Myanmar holds the edge on goal difference, boasting a plus-7 mark compared to Malaysia’s plus-3.
Earlier in the day, Myanmar strengthened its semifinal bid with a commanding 7-2 victory over Laos to secure its second win of the campaign.
Both teams will conclude their Group B schedules on Saturday at 9:00 PM.
The Philippines will travel to Kuala Lumpur to face Malaysia at the KLFA Stadium, while Thailand will host Myanmar at Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok.
As it stands, the Philippines must beat Malaysia by at least five goals and hope Thailand defeats Myanmar to advance to the knockout stage for the second straight edition.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t get the first goal,” said coach Carles Cuadrat. “The one who scores first has a lot of options to make the game for the team.”
He went on, “It’s sad that the guys didn’t get their reward of at least one point because with one point, then you can go to Malaysia to repeat what happened in the last Mitsubishi Cup when it was a must-win match in Malaysia. And the team got that, so it would be the same for us to get a must-win match in Malaysia to get the qualification.”
PHI XI: Deyto, Sato, Ugelvik, Reyes, Muens, Gayoso, Nishioka, Kekkonen, Mrowka, Mariona, Rontini
THA XI: Kampon (GK, C), Nattapong, Pansa, Seksan, Thossawat, Worachit, Chawanit, Waris, Jehhanafee, Pokklaw, Wanchai
