The Philippines relied on the defensive stand of goalkeeper Nicholas Guimaraes to remain in contention for a semifinal slot in the U23 ASEAN Football Championship Mandiri Cup 2025 in Jakarta.
Guimaraes was named the Man of the Match as the Philippine side conceded only one goal in its 0-1 loss to Indonesia.
“We came here tonight with the intent to take the game to the opponent, that will be th approach we take into every game. We are in this game right up until the very final second because of this attitude, because of this mindset,” said coach Garrath McPherson.
The Philippines’ U23 squad still has a hope of reaching the semis, following a 2-0 upset win over the Malaysia U23 side last Tuesday.
Malaysia shares second place with the Philippines, and will clash with Indonesia in its final Group stage encounter on Monday at 8 p.m. at the Gelo Bung Karno Stadium
The Philippines will go for its second win against eliminated Brunei U23, also on Monday at 8 p.m. at the Patriot Chandrabagha Stadium.
The Filipinos will advance to the semis if they have a better tiebreak record than the Malaysians.
“They believe they can beat anyone. The path forward is simple, we recover, we get back on the training pitch and we work to improve,” added McPherson.
Indonesia got the win when the Philippines conceded the lone goal in the 23rd minute, with an own goal by Jaime Rosquillo off a long throw by Robi Darwis from the right sideline.
Vietnam and Thailand are among the teams expected to reach the semis.
