With two newcomers and a lot of preparation behind the scenes, the PMNFT is aiming only at wins.
The Philippine Men’s National Football Team (PMNFT) is about to embark on a year-long journey with only one goal in mind: qualifying for the 2027 Asian Cup.
This month, the PMNFT will begin the third round of the 2027 Asian Cup Qualifiers. Their first match will be a home game against the Maldives, taking place on March 25, Tuesday. From there, the tournament will conclude next year, with a match against Tajikistan on March 31, 2026.
(If you need a refresher on the tournament format and schedule, click here for a quick recap.)
And as Freddy Gonzalez, the Philippine Football Federation Senior Director of National Teams, once said, “It’s Asian Cup or bust.”
In order to make it to the next Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia, the Philippines must finish at the top of their group, which also includes the Maldives, Tajikistan, and Timor-Leste. In other words, every match is a must-win.
“I think of every game for the Asian Cup Qualifiers as a final because only the first place of every group goes to the Asian Cup, so every game is really important no matter which team we’re playing against,” Sandro Reyes, who emerged as one of the team’s biggest stars after last year’s ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup (AMEC), told The GAME.
Goalkeeper Quincy Kammeraad, who made his debut in the PMNFT’s match against Indonesia in the AMEC and was even named ‘Man of the Match’ that night, also shared a similar sentiment to Reyes.
After their inspiring run of games at the end of 2024, the Dutch-Filipino player reflected, “I think it’s only fair from the fans to have a certain type of expectation now from us, which gives us a healthy amount of pressure. But it’s for us now to deliver on the pitch. Do a good job.”
Luckily, the PMNFT has assets they can bank on coming into the tournament.
Team chemistry
Most of the Filipino booters called up for the first match of the Qualifiers, a home game against the Maldives to be played at the New Clark City Stadium, are the same players who competed in the AMEC just a few months ago. This should work in the team’s favor, especially given the impressive results they strung together in December, which includes their historic win over Thailand.
“The chemistry has to be there,” Kammeraad told The GAME in an exclusive interview, reflecting on what the team needs to succeed in this tournament. “The majority of the squad has been together, so I think it will be really easy to translate going into the game…
“For me, playing for the national team is always the biggest honor as a football player. You always give a hundred percent if you know your teammates are giving a hundred percent as well. It makes us strong as a team.”
But you may notice two new names on the PMNFT squad: Josef Baccay and Randy Schneider.
Baccay, 23, is a Filipino-Norwegian defender who grew up playing in Norway and currently plays for Odds Ballklubb in the Norwegian First Division. Schneider, on the other hand, who is of the same age, is a midfielder who was raised in Switzerland and competes for FC Winterthur in the Swiss Super League.
Both are talented youngsters who are expected to raise the standards of the team.
According to Freddy Gonzalez, who played a huge role in bringing these names to the squad, “Josef is…a very versatile left-back. He can play left-back, left-wing, center-back. It’s a good addition to have the quality of Michael Kempter and Josef Baccay in the same position. If we had Josef during the AMEC, I believe we would have been in the finals…
“[Randy Schnieder] is a very unbelievably talented midfielder who can play in any position, really. His club uses him pretty much anywhere. He’s really versatile. Of course, his best role is as an attacking midfielder…So you know, without a few of our left-wingers, I’m curious to see what [Coach Albert Capellas] comes up with against the Maldives.”
Sandro Reyes believes that adding new weapons to their squad increases the expectations for every individual player.
“The more quality players we’re able to bring in for the team, the better. It also pushes every player to want to be better themselves because we know that it’s not easy anymore to get into the national team. Every day it’s getting harder and harder, more players want to come and join. It’s a good way to push the team forward as well,” he said.
Delivering for the fans
Newcomers are not the only reason the PMNFT players are working hard to deliver. On top of this, they know that Filipino football fans are also coming into this tournament with the same mindset as the players — they want to see wins.
After the team’s ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup campaign, Sando Reyes took notice of the surge in support he felt from the fans.
“Yeah, it’s really nice to see the game against Thailand. Obviously, there are so many people and then just the messages that all of us players receive from the fans. It’s just really nice to see and it motivates us even more to do better for the country,” he said.
Since the AMEC, where Reyes even got to wear the captain’s armband as a sign of his stature on the squad, he has also been preparing himself for the upcoming journey with the national team.
“Personally, maybe just my stamina, perhaps, or the physical side of the game,” he shared. “I think I did most of my best showing with the national team so far in the last tournament. So I just want to keep improving and show even better in this upcoming game…
“I always want to prove that I can be part of the team. Every day in Germany, I work hard so that I can continue to be part of this team.”
Coach Albert Capellas is also satisfied with the level of preparation he’s observed from his boys.
“The preparation has been very good,” he affirmed. “I’m very satisfied [with] everything, I think every time we have a stronger squad with better players, with higher quality…
“It gives us a lot of hope that we are closer to this level that we are looking for.
“And now, we have a very important game against Maldives and we want to finish the group in first position, that means we have to start to win the next game — not only to win but also to perform good, so that the Philippine supporters feel proud about the team.”
Banner image from Filipinas on Facebook.