The PMNFT will open their campaign in the ASEAN Championship against a dangerous team that is coming off a tough loss.
The Philippine Men’s National Football Team (PMNFT) will debut in the 2024 ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup (AMEC) 2024 on Thursday night against an opponent that has their backs against the wall.
The Pinoy booters will take on Myanmar at the Rizal Football Stadium, fully aware that the Chinthe will be playing with a greater sense of urgency after they dropped a sorry 1-nil decision at home against perennial contenders Indonesia last Monday.
“We are three points (behind) already,” said Myanmar coach Myo Hlaing Win at Wednesday’s press conference. So tomorrow (Thursday) we are coming for, three points, so we are trying to win tomorrow. The Philippine team, a lot of good players, quality players.
The AMEC, also known as the ASEAN Championship, gathers 10 of Southeast Asia’s men’s football teams in a biennial tournament. The Philippines, Myanmar, and Indonesia are in Group B along with 2022 runners-up Vietnam and Laos. Vietnam joined Indonesia atop the early leaderboard after a 4-0 win over Laos, also last Monday.
Defending champions Thailand lead Group A, which also include Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia and Timor-Leste. The War Elephants opened their title defense with a 10-0 pounding of Timor-Leste, while Malaysia were held to a surprising 2-2 draw by Cambodia. Only the top two teams from each group will advance to the crossover semifinals, so every point is important.
“All of them are good players, so every team, not just the Philippines team, but all of the teams are well prepared,” noted Myo.
Home at last
The Philippine men’s team is in a prolonged transition phase, with a second coach, Albert Capellas, appointed in a span of six months.
Capellas, who has worked with FC Barcelona, replaced Tom Saintfiet in September and will only now coach a home game since being appointed.
“For me, it’s a very exciting day, very important day,” he said. “It will be my first game at home, and I feel at home. And it’s very exciting for me to play in the Mitsubishi Cup and to play at home. And I’m really looking forward to feel the support of the fans, and especially the support of the players, giving their best, their 100 percent, to play a fantastic game and try to win. For us, of course, because we are in the developing process, we are changing a lot of things, and that will give us confidence in everything that we are working on.”
The Philippines reached the semifinals of this tournament four times in the 2010s but hasn’t quite cleared the hump. The team’s composition is much different now, with an emphasis on youth. But one of the players who debuted in 2014 is still around: goalkeeper Patrick Deyto, who is now team captain.
“Of course, it’s the first game of the tournament, so it’s always important,” Deyto said of Thursday’s match. “We want to settle it down in a positive way. Like what Coach said, we haven’t had home games recently, so it’s a good opportunity for us to showcase how we have developed in the last few camps.
“We want to put on a good performance tomorrow, and we’re really looking forward to it. We’re prepared.”
‘Interesting game’
The PMNFT have had mixed results of late. They are coming off a 3-1 defeat to Hong Kong in an international friendly last month, and a 3-0 win over Tajikistan in the bronze medal game of the King’s Cup. Capellas is hoping to apply the lessons they learned from both matches and make a deep run in the ASEAN Championship. And first up is Myanmar, a dangerous team that has steadily improved over the last few years.
“It will be an interesting game,” Capellas said. “We will try to keep the ball, we will try to dominate the game, we will try to win the game from the minute one, and we will try to be offensive.
“As a coach, I don’t think offensive and defensive, you can split that. It’s the same. Because when you are attacking, you have to learn what happens if you lose the ball, and you have to be in the right position. Always work together. Always work together.
“That is something in Hong Kong we didn’t do well. We didn’t attack well, and we got counter-attacks that were unnecessary, because we weren’t in the right position. That is one of the things I expect to develop in the team, that is when we attack, we attack in the right positions, when we lose the ball, we don’t allow quick counter-attacks from Myanmar.”
Capellas expects an aggressive approach from the visitors.
“I expect that this is a team that is aggressive, that when they go to the goals, they go aggressive. I expect a team who, they try to do quick counter-attacks, that they try to bring the ball in front as quick as possible. I expect a team that like to put crosses, to put balls in the box, not with short combinations, more with balls in the side, and put crosses, and go for the second ball, and fight for the second ball.”
Deyto, who has played professionally in Thailand, is looking forward to the team’s first home game in a while.
“Obviously, it’s always special when you play for the country. But with the national team, I’m always prepared, and I’m always ready to give 100 percent for whatever role I have. So, yeah, tomorrow will be, like I said, a good opportunity to play for the home fans, to be able to try to win the match tomorrow.”
Capellas hopes a good showing by the PMNFT against Myanmar will help bring out the crowd for future home games, starting with the titanic December 18 clash with Vietnam.
“Of course, we want the supporters, as many supporters, because then we feel it, and it’s important for us to have a lot of supporters. But in football, we have to perform. And we have to deserve that the supporters come to watch us. That means, as a coach, my responsibility is to deliver a performance in front of the fans. That we perform, we entertain, and it’s fun to watch the games.”
Banner Images from the PFF.