Philippines Creates Special Strategy to Face Indonesian National Team, Coach: There Are Three New Faces

JAKARTA – The coach of the Philippine National Team (Timnas), Tom Saintfiet will field a different team to face Indonesian National team in the final match of Group F of the second round of the 2026 World Cup Qualification Asia Zone at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium (SUGBK), Jakarta on Tuesday (11/6/2024) at 19.30 WIB.

Saintfiet said he would not choose players based on their experience of playing in the Indonesian league. The Azkals – the nickname for the Philippine National Team – are known to have a number of players who play in local Indonesian competitions, such as Simen Lyngbo and Christian Rontini.

However, Saintfiet will not field players based on this special factor. The Belgian coach wants to assign players who are worthy and ready to play in this match.

“I will not place players just because they play in Indonesia. “I will field players who are worthy to play,” said Saintfiet in a press conference before the match, recently.

Furthermore, Saintfiet did not rule out the possibility of recruiting several new players to fill the Philippines squad against Indonesia. However, he did not rule out the possibility of fielding experienced players in the Indonesian league.

“But maybe tomorrow there will be two to three new faces compared to the match against Vietnam. “And maybe there will be players who are brought down from local leagues,” he explained.

It is known that the Philippines has actually been eliminated from the race for a place in the third round of the 2026 World Cup Qualifications in the Asian Zone. Meanwhile, the Indonesian national team currently has a big chance of getting a ticket to the third round of World Cup qualifying.

Shin Tae-yong’s squad is in second place in Group F standings. If they win against the Philippines, the Indonesian national team will certainly qualify for the third round of World Cup Qualification for the first time.

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