By Vince Matthew Jaramilla and Andrei M. Barrantes

Philippine Men’s National Football Team (PMNFT) pulled out a 1-1 deadlock on their home floor against Myanmar to kick off the group stage of the ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2024 earlier tonight, December 12, at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila CIty.

The national team steered the game with their offense right from the get-go, producing three shots on target and three corner kicks to the away squad’s zeros within the first 20 minutes.

Unfortunately, Myanmar was the first to get on the scoreboard off a free kick by Maung Maung Lwin in the 25th minute, which also marked their very first shot on target of the match, 0-1.

The Filipino squad continued their fast-paced offense and led the Burmese booters in passing accuracy with an efficient 85 percent, but they remained down at the end of the first half.

After halftime, the blue shirts nearly faced a larger deficit as Myanmar’s Ye Yint Aung connected on a breakaway goal in the 62nd minute, which was quickly overturned into a no-goal.

In the 68th minute, PMNFT forward Bjørn Kristensen was fouled off an assist from Zico Bailey, resulting in Myanmar’s third yellow card served to goalkeeper Zin Nyi Nyi Aung.

Kristensen was awarded a penalty kick and met the bottom-right pocket of the net, tying the match at 72-minute mark, 1-1.

With 77 minutes of regulation played, Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraw Booter alums Pocholo Bugas and Amani Aguinaldo checked in for Alex Monis and an injured Christian Rontini, respectively. 

After four more attempts in the remainder of regulation and the additional 10 minutes, the Philippines settled for 1-1 to conclude their first tournament match. 

The Philippines practiced exceptional discipline throughout the match, beating Myanmar off the boards in passing, accuracy, and fouls.

Despite having no problems in their handling and ball movement, the hometown squad could not convert, having the ball 61 percent of the match and creating 22 total shots to the visiting country’s seven. 

In the post-game presser, newly instated head coach Albert Capellas praised the team's effort despite the adversity that the program has faced in the previous months post-retirement of the Azkals moniker.

“What we are doing is not easy. We are changing everything. It’s a process to build a team, [it] takes one, two years to stay together… Even with the mistakes that I made, I think the team really deserved to win that game,” he said.

PMNFT captain Christian Rontini then expressed his optimism for the team’s potential to be more successful and the country’s support in the future.

“I think this is a part of our journey, of the process… I believe in my teammates, in the staff, and in the people in the Philippines that they will follow and support us because tonight, we show[ed] that something’s changing… Now, we are creating something special… We can do big things in the near future and in the long future,” the defender stated.

The PMNFT landed at the Group B three-seed and will square off against Laos on Sunday, December 15, at the New Laos National Stadium.

(Photo by Karch Rafael/FEU Advocate)