Philippines' unique lineup when rematching Vietnam, Mr. Kim needs to study carefully

Why the Philippine team gathered in Dubai

The Vietnamese team and the Philippine team will face off on June 6 at My Dinh Stadium ( Hanoi ). This is the second leg of the 2nd qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup. In the first leg, the Vietnamese team led by coach Troussier won 2-0 away.

Before this return match, the Philippine team, instead of gathering domestically, gathered in Dubai (UAE, from May 26). The reason the team, led by coach Tom Saintfiet (Belgian), gathered in Dubai is because this is a location between the West and the East, the most convenient for the movement of Philippine players from all over the world to join the national team.

In the first leg, the Philippines team lost to Vietnam right at home.

Up to 22/28 Philippine players preparing for the match with the Vietnamese team on June 6 are playing abroad, only... 6 are playing football in the country.

Of the 6 players currently playing domestically, only 2 have seniority in the national team, including midfielder Kevin Ingreso (31 years old, 43 appearances for the national team, scoring 4 goals) and winger Jarvey Gayoso (27 years old, 15 appearances for the national team, scoring 2 goals).

Regarding the match between the Vietnamese team and the Philippine team at My Dinh Stadium (Hanoi), in the second qualifying round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, at 7:00 p.m. on June 6, VFF will open direct sales at VFF headquarters starting from 9:00 a.m. on June 1.

Address: Vietnam Football Federation, Le Quang Dao Street, Phu Do Ward, Nam Tu Liem District, Hanoi.

From June 4, VFF will simultaneously deploy two direct ticket sales points at: 1. Vietnam Football Federation, Le Quang Dao Street (Hanoi). Daily ticket sales time: morning from 9:00, afternoon from 13:30

The rest of the Philippine team are playing from East to West, from leagues in Europe (England, Spain, Croatia, Norway, Belgium), North America (USA, Canada), Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia). There is even a Filipino player playing in Cambodia, that is left-back Pocholo Bugas (playing for Angkor Tiger Club).

Human resource quality is a big question mark

The detail that the Philippine team had to gather players from all over the world, from many football backgrounds and from many national championships of different levels, reflects not only the style but also the inconsistent quality of the Philippine team. This detail is also quite different from the Vietnamese team. In terms of style and quality of players, most of the Vietnamese players on coach Kim Sang-sik's list are familiar with each other's playing style, the players' levels are not too far apart, it is not too difficult for coach Kim Sang-sik to arrange the team.

Philippines team personnel

On the contrary, the quality of the Philippine players is a big question mark. It is even hard to believe that the coach of the Philippine team, Tom Saintfiet, has enough time to monitor the ability and performance of the players he has called up to the team, when they are playing all over the world.

It is possible that some Filipino players have only been seen by coach Tom Saintfiet through video. At the same time, it seems that any player with Philippine nationality who wants to join the national team will have the opportunity to play for the national team. With such a squad, the Philippines is truly an unknown quantity for the Vietnamese team. However, this unknown quantity may not be too difficult to solve for the team under coach Kim Sang-sik in the coming days.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/doi-hinh-doc-la-cua-philippines-khi-tai-dau-viet-nam-ong-kim-can-nghien-cuu-ky-185240531135216058.htm