Vietnam silences historic crowd at Rizal Memorial

Philippine newspapers "cried" for the home team's 0-2 defeat to Vietnam, witnessed by a "historic crowd" at Rizal Memorial: 10,378 people!

Philippine press regrets home team's defeat to Vietnam - Photo: Tiebreaker Times

Responding to the call of the Philippine Football Federation (PFF), more than 10,000 people came to the stadium to cheer directly for the Philippine team in the opening match against Vietnam in the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup.

But in the end, the Philippines lost 0-2 to the Vietnamese team. The Philippine press expressed regret for this defeat. The Philstar newspaper headlined: "Philippines stumbles against Vietnam in the opening match of the second qualifying round for the 2026 World Cup ".

Inquirer Sports writer Luisa Morales commented: "More than 10,000 fans witnessed the Philippines team play at Rizal Memorial . But the door was completely slammed shut when we lost 0-2 to Vietnam. The Philippines suffered a difficult start to their efforts...".

Tiebreaker Times also had an article with the headline: "Vietnam silenced a historic crowd at Rizal Memorial, defeating the Philippines 2-0."

ABS-CBN News wrote: "The Philippines team bowed to Vietnam, after a 0-2 defeat in the opening match of the second qualifying round for the 2026 World Cup... Now we have to try to stand up when we meet Indonesia ."

Despite regretting the home team's defeat, the Philippine press all admitted that the Vietnamese team deserved to win because the "golden star warriors" played with reasonable tactics and effective finishing ability.

Tuoitre.vn