The Philippine Azkals’ dreams of making it to the 2026 FIFA World Cup received a harsh reality check at the hands of Southeast Asian neighbors Vietnam.
The Philippines could not defend home soil as it folded 0-2 to Vietnam in the second round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup AFC qualification tournament Thursday in front of 10,378 fans at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.
The Golden Star Warriors rose to the top of Group F with three points while the Azkals are in the bottom. Group F’s other game shall see Iraq host Indonesia tonight at 10:45 p.m. at the Basra International Stadium.
The Azkals tried to start on the front foot but the visitors came in ready to withstand any pressure. OJ Porteria sought to give the Philippines an early lead, only for his attempt to go straight at Vietnamese goalie Dang Van Lam’s hands.
That was as good as it got for the Azkals in the first half as the Golden Star Warriors broke the deadlock in the 16th minute. Striker Nguyen Van Toan took advantage of the Philippines’ poor defending to shoot past goalkeeper Neil Etheridge and stun the home crowd into silence.
The Azkals fared better in the second half but still did not find a breakthrough. Manuel Ott and OJ Porteria had sniffs at goal that failed to hit the target. At the other end, Etheridge was forced into action twice to deny Vietnam forward Pham Tuan Hai.
Ultimately, it just was not meant to be the Philippines’ night. Santiago Rublico and Bienvenido Marañon wasted golden opportunities to equalize while Stephan Schrock’s free kick was stopped by the Vietnam wall as Nguyen Dinh Bac capped it off with a goal for the visitors in stoppage time.
The Philippines will look to bounce back against Indonesia this Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the same Manila venue.
Meanwhile, Vietnam will return to action against Iraq this Tuesday at 8 p.m. at the My Dinh National Stadium in Hanoi.
The top two teams of Group F will advance to the 2027 AFC Asian Cup and the third qualifying round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. On the other hand, the bottom two shall enter the third qualifying round of the 2027 AFC Asian Cup.
Philippines XI: Etheridge (GK, C), Curran, Tabinas, Mi Ott, Manu Ott, Porteria, Sato, Reichelt, Rublico, Baas, Rontini.
Vietnam XI: Vo Minh Trong, Bguyen Thanh Binh, Nguyen Van Toan, Nguyen Tuan Anh ©, Phan Thai Son, Nguyen Thai Son, Vu Van Thanh, Pham Tuan Hai, Bui Hoang Viet Anh, Nguyen Tien Linh, Dang Van Lam.
