Manila: Four-time semi-finalists Philippines will begin their ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup™ 2024 campaign against Myanmar at Rizal Memorial Stadium on Thursday.
Filipino football is transitioning into a new era with Albert Capellas now the man at the helm after he was appointed head coach in September, having previously been Barcelona Academy manager as well as Assistant Manager at Borussia Dortmund and Vitesse amongst others.
The Spaniard faces a tough challenge with the Philippines’ difficult run of form seeing them win just one of their last five matches heading into the competition.
The Philippines have participated in both the 2024 Pestabola Merdeka and King’s Cup, losing against the hosts Malaysia and Thailand respectively in their first matches. They suffered a narrow defeat against Tajikistan in the third-place playoff match in Kuala Lumpur, before exacting revenge a month later with a brilliant 3-0 win against the same opponents in Songkhla.
Patrick Reichelt, the third-most capped player in Philippines national team history, is the most experienced member of the squad with 90 international caps while centre-back Amani Aguinaldo is the only other member with more than 50 appearances.
Goalkeeper Patrick Deyto, Jarvey Gayoso and Zico Bailey will be other key players as the Philippines aim to return to the semi-finals for the first time since 2018.
Myanmar, on the other hand, made an encouraging start to their Group B campaign with only an own goal the difference in a 1-0 defeat versus Indonesia on Monday.
😯 SO close to opening the scoring!#MitsubishiElectricCup#ASEANUtdFC pic.twitter.com/kEqLMMrhvA
— ASEAN United FC (@aseanutdfc) December 9, 2024
Captain Maung Maung Lwin showed flashes of his ability while young Yangon United midfielder Zaw Win Thein struck the crossbar as Myanmar came very close to scoring the opener against Team Garuda.
Both nations have plenty of history in the ASEAN Championship with this set to be their ninth clash in the tournament with Myanmar having the upper hand with wins in the first four meetings before two goalless draws.
However, the Philippines have tasted success in the two most recent matches with a Bienvenido Maranon hat-trick sinking Myanmar in the 2020 edition.
Interestingly, current Myanmar head coach Myo Hlaing Win netted a brace in a 5-2 victory against the Philippines in 1998 and he will now look to mastermind another win, this time from the touchline 26 years later.
Philippines vs Myanmar
Venue: Rizal Memorial Stadium, Manila
Kick-off: 12 December, 6:30 PM (Local Time)
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