Philippines seeking ASEAN ME Cup road victory at Vientiane

c/o Philippine Football Federation

The Philippine Men’s National Football Team are eager to get maximum points when they face-off against Laos on Sunday evening, 6:30PM PST, at the New Laos National Stadium. Having drawn their opener in the ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup™ 2024, the Filipinos require victory in opposition territory in order to boost their chances of progressing into the semifinals of Southeast Asia’s biggest tournament.

“We had only two days of preparation, and one was for traveling, so we only have today to really prepare for the game. It’s a very short time, but of course we are professionals, so the players will deliver their best,” said Philippine Head Coach Albert Capellas.

“They are dangerous in front. Boundphachan [Bounkong] is a good player - dangerous. I expect they will try to find him as much as they can. That is part of what we have to try to do. — he cannot receive too many balls in good positions on the field. I also expect a team that will be aggressive. Even if they’ve had a long trip as well from Indonesia, we are more or less in the same position physically,” he continued “If we want to win this game, we’ll need to be good in offense, but also very organized in our rest defense so they cannot play quick counterattacks, which they do very well."

Laos enter the match full of confidence after managing an impressive 3-3 draw away from home against highly favored Indonesia in their last outing. Zico Bailey, who impressed in his first appearance in front of the Filipino fans, is expecting a tough challenge.

“We have a lot of respect for them, they have a lot of good players. They had a good result in their last match, so we’re not taking them likely. We’re just going to go over how we’re going to play, our tactics, the formation of the players, and we’ll give our best tomorrow,” he said.

The match will be available LIVE on Matchday.ph and on One Sports+. It will also be available on a delayed basis on One Sports, Pilipinas Live, and on the Philippine Men’s National Football Team’s Facebook page.