The Philippine national men’s football team, after bowing to host Thailand, plunges into action on Monday, facing Tajikistan for a third-place playoff in the 2024 King’s Cup at the Tinsulanon Stadium in Songkhla.
Tajikistan arranged a 7 p.m. encounter showdown with the Albert Capellas-coached Philippine side following a 0-1 loss to Syria on Friday evening.
Capellas said the squad played a well-balanced game until heavy rain disrupted the contest, and a temporary stoppage took place in the 25th minute, with the pitch getting soggy.
“I think we played well in the first 20 minutes. The game was very balanced, with both teams having chances,” Capellas said.
“But after the rain, it was a completely different game – far from what we had trained for and expected in such a high-level match,” Capellas added of his team’s 1-3 loss to the Thais.
The Thai War Elephants took advantage of interruptions caused by bad weather in order to regroup and take control of the game.
The Thais finally found an opportunity to score in the 53rd minute off Chanathip Songkrasin.
After that, Bjørn Martin Kristensen, who plays for Aalesunds FK in Norway, levelled the count for the Philippines in the 63rd minute.
Then, Suphanat Mueanta’s header put the War Elephants back in the lead with his own marker in the 68th minute.
The Philippines’ woes continued when team captain Amani Aguinaldo was shown a red card in the 75th minute for a dangerous tackle, leaving Capellas with 10 men in the field
The Thais found another scoring chance as Mueanta slammed his second goal in the 87th minute,the War Elephants’ third in the game.
This put the War Elephants in a title showdown with Syria at 9 p.m.
