THE Philippines suffered a heartbreaking 3-2 defeat to Vietnam on Thursday night in Hanoi and bowed out of contention for a spot in the Fifa World Cup 2026.
The Filipino booters lost for the fourth time in the second round of qualifying, dropping out of the race for seats in the World Cup after blowing a 1-0 lead in front of Vietnamese fans at the My Dinh National Stadium.
They only have a point in Group F following a 1-1 draw against Indonesia last November 21.
The Philippines appeared on its way to essay another upset in the same venue where the then-Azkals beat their Southeast Asian rivals in the AFF Suzuki Cup 14 years ago -a match immortalized in the football community as the ‘Miracle in Hanoi.’
But after Patrick Reichelt got his team on the scoreboard in the 62nd minute, the Philippines quickly conceded the first of two goals by Tien Linh Nguyen three minutes later for the hosts' equalizer.
Tien got his brace in the 76th minute, scoring after the Philippine defense was caught napping while anticipating an offside call from Tuan Tai Phan. But Tuan played on and delivered the cross to an unmarked Tien for the go-ahead goal.
Kevin Ingreso nearly salvaged a point for PMNT with an equalizer, 2-2, in the 89th minute but the Filipinos' defense once again crumbled when Tuan was left alone and slotted in a rebound from a Neil Etheridge save.
A win would have given the Philippines another shot at advancing into the third and final round of the qualification when they play Indonesia on Tuesday at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta.
Indonesia lost to Iraq, 2-0, earlier in the day that kept the Philippines alive for a World Cup berth prior to the Vietnam.
The Philippines still need to finish strong as it will compete in the third round of the AFC Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers.
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