The Philippine men's football team will look to keep their 2026 FIFA World Cup hopes alive as they look to upset the 59th-ranked Iraq.
After playing against Iraq in the jam-packed Basra International Stadium last March 22, it’s the Philippine men’s football team’s turn to have the crowd advantage.
The Philippines is set to face the Iraqi team once more, but this time at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila which has a capacity of 12,873.
While it won’t be close to the 65,000 fans in Basra, newly-minted coach Tom Saintfient, who will also be making his coaching debut on Philippine soil, is hoping to use the home crowd to fuel the team in hopes of grabbing a crucial victory in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, which also double as a qualifier for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup.
“We wanted to create opportunities but playing there was not easy in [a] 65,000 fully-packed stadium,” Saintfiet said during the pre-match press conference Monday.
“I don't aim to be equal, but more than what we did in Basra and great chances and shots and hopefully, we get pushed by the 12,000 people in the stadium and achieve the goals of that,” he added.
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Saintfiet likewise knows that playing in Manila this time around will be an even bigger advantage for the players who are used to playing in the stadium.
“It was a fantastic atmosphere, I think players and staff really loved to play but we [would] have preferred if it was 65,000 people from the Philippines sitting there, so tomorrow it will be always an advantage,” said Saintfiet.
“It's our grounds, players are used to playing on the pitch, it's our climate, and it's our crowd who will cheer for us and hopefully, the stands are looking blue,” he added.
Despite just having less than a week of training under Saintfiet, the 139th-ranked Philippines showed a great fight against the 59th-ranked Iraqis, falling to a 1-0 defeat after conceding the lone goal in the 84th minute.
The Filipinos' second defeat in the second round, however, dealt a significant blow to their aspirations of securing a direct qualification to the next stage, dropping them to the bottom of their group with 1 point, and a goal difference of -3.
Indonesia occupies the second position with 4 points and a goal difference of -3, closely followed by Vietnam in third place with 3 points and a neutral goal difference.
Only the top two teams in the group will earn a spot in round 3 of the World Cup qualifiers.
That is why Saintfiet is hoping to use every advantage they can get to snatch a crucial victory in the second round of the FIFA World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup 2027 preliminary joint qualifiers.
“I think there will be an advantage but we know we face a tough opponent. They [Iraq] won also in Vietnam, 0-1, so it won't be easy but if we have that little extra with the 12,000 people. So, we will play with 12,011 against the 11 from Iraq and that's an advantage.