When Fil-Norwegian booter Bjørn Kristensen was given a chance to go for a penalty shot, coach Albert Capellas felt the Philippines’ chance to make it to the semifinals has come.
And Kristensen gave the Philippines a fighting chance when he struck in the 63rd minute with his goal, lifting Philippine national men’s team to a thrilling 1-0 triumph over Indonesia on Saturday at the Manahan Stadium in Surakarta.
The 22-year-old Kristensen’s heroics sent the Philippines to the semifinals of the ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2024.
“We knew that it was the moment and we should grab it. We knew what Indonesia will then do (if we don’t) and it won’t be easy and it had been difficult for us,” said Capellas in a post-game interview.
The Filipino booters’ chances later got a boost when Vietnam routed Myanmar, 5-0, over at the Viet Tri Stadium in Vietnam.
It was the first time that the Philippines made it to the semis of the tournament since the 2018 edition, when the squad was coached by Sven-Göran Eriksson and Scott Cooper.
“The Philippines in the semifinals should have been done already. We should have qualified before. But we missed a lot of chances,” added Capellas.
The Philippines, which has claimed its second triumph over Indonesia since 2014, went on to finish Group B with a 1-3-0 win-draw-loss record. Vietnam took the top spot with their 3-1-0 slate.
The Philippine side will next face Group A leader Thailand in the two-leg semifinals.
The first leg will be held at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila on Thursday, while the second leg is slated December 30 at the Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok.
Kristensen, a former Norwegian under-20 team member, who is now a forward for Eliteserien club KFUM Oslo, went for a penalty kick following a foul on Yrick Gallantes.
It marked Kristensen’s second goal of the tournament, thereby giving the Philippines the edge it needed.
It was a challenging encounter for the Philippines, after starting goalkeeper Patrick Deyto got injured in a collision with an Indonesian player.
After Quincy Kammeraad came in for Deyto, his saves kept Indonesia scoreless in the first half.
Vietnam will face Singapore in the other semifinal matchup.
