Philippines’ U20. | PFF photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Philippine Men’s Football U20 squad absorbed a stinging 0-5 defeat at the hands of Thailand in their first match of the ongoing Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U20 Asian Cup Qualification on Wednesday evening, September 25, at the Buriram City Stadium in Thailand.
Competing in Group H, the Philippines logged their first loss against the home team, who were relentless from kick-off.
The Thais were led by British-Thai forward Caelan Ryan, who finished with a hat trick.
Tanakrit Chotmuangpak initiated Thailand’s scoring spree with a 14th-minute goal, and just three minutes later, Caelan Ryan logged his first of three goals in the 17th minute, putting his team in an early commanding 2-0 lead.
Ryan went on to score another goal in the 24th minute, stretching their lead to 3-0, while the Philippines struggled defensively to contain the host team.
Ryan completed his hat trick in the 45th minute to end the first half, while teammate Thanawut Phochai put the icing on the cake for Thailand with a 76th-minute goal.
The Philippines will take on Iraq tomorrow, Friday, at the same venue at 3:30 PM. Their last remaining match in Group H will be against Brunei Darussalam on Sunday.
Part of the team’s coaching staff is Cebu’s winningest football coach, Glenn Ramos. The majority of the team’s roster competed in the ASEAN U19 tournament under head coach and Philippine Football Federation (PFF) technical director Josep Maria “Coco” Ferre.
Some of the players tapped by the PFF to represent the Philippines’ U20 squad hail from the United States, Spain, Australia, Germany, Canada, Russia, Turkey, Italy, and the United Kingdom.