The PMNFT cemented their spot atop their qualifying group for the AFC Asian Cup with a dub in New Clark City.
Props to the visitors. The two teams met on the first day of the FIFA window last Thursday in Darwin, Australia. The Pinoys won 4-1, and I was not at all impressed with O Sol Nascente, the nickname of the Timorese squad.
They looked slow and labored against the Philippines that night, and we pretty much dominated possession. I was expecting something similar on home ground on Tuesday, but instead it was as if the Timorese had a fire lit up under them leading up to the game. They were excellent in the first half, creating chances and defending resolutely. Meanwhile, the Filipinos struggled. Andre Leipold squandered a great chance in the 27th minute, and keeper Kevin Mendoza made a distribution error that almost led to a goal. He did, however, rise to the occasion with one spread-out save.
I was seated on the side where Timorese winger Joao Rangel was stationed in the first half, and I noticed his quickness and composure on the ball. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise when he unspooled a gorgeous long strike from the left side that found the back of the net and silenced the crowd at the New Clark City Athletics Stadium.
Rangel plays in the seventh tier of English football for an outfit called Leiston FC. Amazing that this quality is present so far down the pyramid of that nation.
At the half, I was thinking about how the Philippines rose up from minnow status to take down more established nations. And now a country like Timor-Leste was trying to flip the script. The hunter is now the hunted.
The qualification of tiny Cape Verde for next year’s World Cup shows that in this game, everyone can dream, and with hard work, smart recruiting, and a bit of luck, smaller nations can succeed. Thankfully for us, a big second-half turnaround denied TLS further progression.
Could Bjorn Kristensen be the spiritual successor to Phil Younghusband?
The Norwegian-born striker looks destined to become the second-best Filipino goalscorer of all time. With his five goals in a single FIFA window, he has vaulted past James Younghusband and Ian Araneta into a tie for fifth with Angel Guirado at thirteen senior team goals.
Kristensen is just 23 years old. While it is unlikely he gets near Phil’s haul of 52 goals, he is only four goals away from out-scoring Chieffy Caligdong and Patrick Reichelt at 16 strikes.
His goal was a textbook move that began with him ghosting into space past a ball-watching TLS defense, controlling the awkward ball, and spearing it into the net. We should never, ever, take this young man for granted. Most clubs and national teams are in constant need of a reliable striker. The Philippines is very lucky indeed.
Jarvey Gayoso’s dagger strike might prove to be very important.
The super sub trotted on in the second half and picked up his fourth senior international goal, cushioning a poor clearance with his body then bundling the ball in with his powerful left foot for the 3-1 final score.
Tajikistan defeated the Maldives 3-0 on the same day. The Philippines and the Central Asians are square at ten points atop the Group A table, but thanks to Gayoso’s late goal, we have a goal differential advantage of +2 over the Tajiks.
On November 18, Tajikistan will look to run up the score against Timor-Leste in Darwin. The Philippines, on the other hand, travels to Male for a real banana skin against an already-eliminated Maldives. This will not be a tropical paradise vacation for Carles Cuadrat’s side. Yes, we beat the Maldivians on our home turf 4-1, but things could very well be different in a hostile environment.
March 2026 is the last matchday in the group, and we will meet Tajikistan in Dushanbe. There is still a chance we could be level on points with the Tajiks when the dust settles, and having that two-goal GD cushion is sweet.
But no matter what happens, these last two games will be a stern test of the team’s character. Our qualifiers schedule has been front-loaded with home games, which has helped us climb atop the standings. Now the boys must prove that they can deliver after long flights and layovers.
The national team needs to return to Panaad Stadium.
There are lots of things to like about the New Clark City Athletics Stadium. It is modern, clean, and even has beautiful bathrooms all over the ground. The parking is ample, and the atmosphere was pretty electric on Tuesday. The players love playing on real grass, although a lot slipped during the game with Timor Leste, probably because of recent rains.
The Asian Football Confederation has deemed that artificial grass pitches are no longer allowed for several top competitions, including this one. That is why Rizal Memorial, with its new plastic pitch, can only be used for friendly matches. New Clark City is thus our best option for both the senior national team and the AFC Champions League 2 home games. Kaya-Iloilo will host BG Pathum United there on October 23.
The Philippine Stadium in Bulacan could be doable, but it’s also far, and one wonders how the pitch is. Every other stadium near Metro Manila is artificial.
That leaves us with Panaad Stadium in Bacolod. The national team, to my recollection, has not been at this iconic venue since 2018. I am told by folks in Bacolod that the field is used for other events, and would need some time to get it back to spec. During the Ceres Negros era it was always in superb shape.
No doubt over improvements with lighting and other issues, like lockers and other rooms, will be necessary to get it ready for an elite-level match. Sorting funding for all that will be another challenge.
Having home games in New Clark City has been a great experience, but it would be neat if we could bring the squad back to the Visayas as well. Bacolod is in a heavily populated urban area, and football hotbeds like Iloilo are not too far away. That could mean a bigger and more boisterous crowd. There were over 8,000 in the stands last Tuesday, and that was pretty good, but the fact is that the ground is in the middle of nowhere and is a royal pain to get to for literally everyone except folks living in Capas, Tarlac.
Next year, there will be a long FIFA window from September to October, where national teams are permitted to play as many as four matches. It would be awesome if we could have one or two in Negros.
One thing is for sure: this latest decision is horrible for the Philippines. Other nations, steeped in football for generations, have no problem with it since most of their stadia have grass surfaces already. But the Philippines is in a very specific pickle: a nation still developing a love of the game, where space for football fields is scarce, and the weather is not great for year-round football on grass. Artificial fields are, in my opinion, the most practical kind of pitch for us. AFC’s ruling almost feels discriminatory against the Philippines, and it would be great if they reconsider.
It may seem like a pipe dream, but hopefully, a football-loving real estate conglomerate could make just one grass-pitch stadium with about 10,000 seats somewhere near Manila, like in Cavite or Laguna. That would go a long way to bringing the national team closer to the fans.
Banner image courtesy of the Philippine Football Federation.