Before the opening match of the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup in Asia, the Vietnamese team was rated higher than the host Philippines. In the last 5 meetings, the Vietnamese players won all. However, head coach Michael Weiss repeatedly affirmed that the Philippine team is now different and strong enough to block the teams in Group F, including Vietnam.
In the pre-match press conference, coach Michael Weiss shared: "Coming to the match against the Vietnamese team, needless to say, this is definitely an important match for the Philippines. We are fortunate to play the first two matches at home, against Vietnam and Indonesia respectively. This is a match where the whole team is in a relaxed spirit and we want to take advantage of it. Against Southeast Asian teams, we want to bring surprises. I am not a person who likes to use words, but want to show results on the field"
The Philippines team is training hard, determined to "break the curse" of losing to Vietnamese players.
Goalkeeper Neil Etheridge is the most notable player on the Philippine team's side in the match against Vietnam at 6 p.m. on November 16 at Rizal Memorial Stadium. Neil Etheridge used to play in the Premier League, for Cardiff City in the 2018-2019 season. Currently, the Philippine goalkeeper is playing for Birmingham City, under the guidance of coach Wayne Rooney in the English First Division.
The Philippine players have home field advantage. In particular, Rizal Memorial Stadium has artificial turf. This is considered a disadvantage for the Vietnamese team.
This is the last training session of the Philippine team, before starting the journey to conquer the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup, with the opening match against Vietnam at 6:00 p.m. on November 16 (Vietnam time).
The current Philippine national team lineup has many naturalized players playing abroad. At first glance, it can be seen that coach Michael Weiss has many players with good physique.
The Philippines team is ranked 138th in the FIFA rankings, while the Vietnam team is ranked 94th.
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![[Photo] National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man visits Vietnamese Heroic Mother Ta Thi Tran](https://vphoto.vietnam.vn/thumb/1200x675/vietnam/resource/IMAGE/2025/7/20/765c0bd057dd44ad83ab89fe0255b783)
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