Coach Tom Saintfiet of the Philippines team expressed his regret when his team lost 2-3 to Vietnam.
Coach Tom Saintfiet of the Philippines team. Photo: Minh Dan
On the evening of June 6, the Philippine team suffered a 2-3 defeat to Vietnam in the 5th match of Group F of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in Asia. This was a match where coach Tom Saintfiet’s students played quite well, showing solid football and taking the lead. However, Tuan Hai’s brilliant performance in stoppage time in the second half sealed the final 3-2 victory for the home team.
Tuan Hai scored the winning goal for Vietnam in extra time. Photo: Minh Dan
With this result, the Philippine team officially has no chance of continuing to the final qualifying round as they continue to sit at the bottom of Group F with 1 point after 5 matches.
Regarding this match, coach Tom Saintfiet of the Philippines team commented: “I want to congratulate the Vietnam team and the atmosphere the fans brought today. I am not here to evaluate the Vietnam team but to Working with the Philippine team.
In this match, my team had many dangerous attacks, a draw would have been better. I regret this result. However, I am satisfied with the whole team’s performance. The players need to learn and gain a lot of experience after today’s loss.”
After this match, the Philippines team will reunite with the Vietnam team at the end of 2024 when the two teams are in Group B at the AFF Cup 2024. However, the “captain” of the Philippines team said he has not thought about this tournament yet.
“The AFF Cup match is still a long time away, I haven’t thought about it yet. What I will do now is focus on the match against Indonesia. The Vietnamese team is a strong candidate in Southeast Asia, but the Philippines will have matches friendly to prepare for the tournament (AFF Cup 2024)”, coach Tom Saintfiet said.
The Vietnamese team faced many difficulties facing the Philippines’ playing style. Photo: Minh Dan
The Philippines team has no chance to continue. However, coach Tom Saintfiet’s students are expected to receive a lot of support from Vietnamese fans in the final match against Indonesia. Because, if the Philippines team defeats Indonesia, the Vietnam team will continue to the third qualifying round if they win against Iraq in the final match.
“I hope that if we receive the support of Vietnamese fans, it will be very good. If we win against Indonesia and Vietnam wins against Iraq, then Vietnam will continue. We will do the best we can, Indonesia is the team strong and they also want to win. The next match will be very difficult,” coach Tom Saintfiet added. The match between the Philippines and Indonesia will take place at 7:30 p.m. on June 11.