2026 World Cup Qualification: Philippines Inferior In Front Of Vietnam

JAKARTA The Philippines is the only team that has been underestimated when they are members of Group F of the 2026 Asian Zone World Cup Qualification.

Not surprisingly, the first meeting in the group stage against Vietnam at the Rizal Memorial Stadium on Thursday, November 16, 2023, made the Philippines inferior.

Despite acting as the host, Vietnam is still above the wind to take home full points.

As is known, in Group F it is perched in Iraq, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines. Iraq is the team that is favorite to appear as group winners and ensures that it passes to the third round of qualifying.

Then, to fight for runner-up posts, in fact, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines are included in the competition market. However, the position of the Philippines is at the bottom of the list in the race for the second place in Group F.

Seeing this condition, the Philippines is practically motivated. The match against Vietnam is the first step whether they will remain losers or even dark horses.

They plan to bring captain Neil Etheridge with veterans such as Manny Ott, Patrick Reichelt, Mike Ott, Kenshiro Daniels, OJ Porteria, and Daisuke Sato.

In addition, the Street Dog, nicknamed the Philippines, also brought along the young player Santiago Rublico. The 18-year-old is currently strengthening the Spanish youth team, Atletico Madrid.

Meanwhile, the Vietnamese camp under the tutelage of Philippe Troussier could not bring in experienced defender Do Duy Manh. The player who already has 55 appearances with the Golden Star Warriors had to miss an injury.

However, Vietnam will be strengthened by center-backs Que Ngoc Hai and Nguyen Tien Linh. The last name has the opportunity to become the third most goalscorer for the country if it can break into the Philippines goal.

Apart from being unseeded among Group F contestants, the meeting with Vietnam also did not side with the Philippines.

Their record against Vietnam in the last six games is completely far from impressive.

The last time the Philippines was recorded as bringing home a win over Vietnam was in 2012. Since then, there have been five games in a row they have always lost against the Golden Star Warriors.

Player Composition Forecast

Philippines (4-3-3): Etheridge; Rublco, Rontini, De Murga, Sato; Manny Ott, Villanueva, Curran; Mike Ott, Porteria, Reichelt

Vietnam (4-3-3): Dang; Phan, Hai, Bui Tien, Xuan; Do, T A Nyugen, Vo; Pham, TL Nyugen, V. Nyugen