The Philippines (in blue kits) and Iraq (in white kits) during their World Cup Qualifiers match at the Rizal Memorial Stadium. | Photo from the PSC
The Philippines (in blue kits) and Iraq (in white kits) during their World Cup Qualifiers match at the Rizal Memorial Stadium. | Photo from the PSC
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Philippine men’s national football team, or PMNT, suffered a humiliating 0-5 defeat at the hands of the visiting Iraq in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers held at the jampacked Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila on Tuesday evening, March 26.
The Iraqis inflicted back-to-back defeats to the Filipinos in their two-match head-to-head fixture in Group F of the 2026 world cup qualifiers.
Just last March 21, the Iraqis hosted the Philippines at the Al Basra Stadium, where they won 1-0.
READ: PHL ready to face Iraq in FIFA World Cup qualifiers
This time, they didn’t give the Philippines mercy in front of roughly 10,000 Filipino football fans who flocked to the Rizal Memorial Stadium.
With the victory, Iraq cemented their hold of Group F’s top spot in the team standings by sweeping all their scheduled matches against Indonesia and Vietnam.
The Philippines fell to the bottom of the standings with their fourth defeat in the FIFA qualifiers.
READ: PHL’s new football head coach tells players to enjoy the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers’ experience
Despite the humiliating defeat, the Philippines still has a chance to salvage second place and advance to the third round of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers if they win over Indonesia and Vietnam later this year in its final window.
Also at stake is a spot for the 2027 Asian Cup.
During the match, the Iraqis were relentless from the get-go by sealing the first half with a 3-0 lead.
READ: Three Cebu booters make final cut for PHL FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers line-up
Aymen Hussein logged the first goal by converting a penalty kick with a right-footed shot through the center of the goal.
In the 30th minute, Amil Al Ammari made it 2-0 from his left-footed shot. Hussein logged his brace or second goal six minutes later with another right-footed shot from Rebin Sulaka’s assist.
In the second half, Zidane Iqbal stretched their lead to 4-0 with his 62nd-minute goal from Al Ammari’s assist.
Zaid Tahseen sealed their lopsided win with a 77th-minute goal from his header after a crafty pass from Luay Al-Ani.
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