By MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine men’s national football team secured a spot in the ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup semifinals with a 1-0 victory over Indonesia at Manahan Stadium in Surakarta on Saturday night.
The win brought the Philippines’ total to six points in Group B, finishing second behind Vietnam, who topped the group with 10 points. This marks the Philippines’ first appearance in the tournament’s Final Four since 2018.
“The Philippines deserve to be in the semifinals for everything they’ve shown throughout the tournament. We should have qualified earlier, but missed opportunities held us back. Finally, luck was on our side today,” said Philippine national team head coach Albert Capellas.
“I’m very happy for the players, for our staff, for everyone in the Federation, and for the entire country of the Philippines,” he added.
Collecting one win and three draws, the Filipinos will face Group A leader Thailand in the two-leg semifinals while Vietnam will face Group B second placer Singapore in the other semis pairing.
The first leg will be held at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila on December 27 and the second is set on December 30 at the Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok.
