Game today:
(Rizal Memorial Football Stadium)
7 p.m. Philippines vs Indonesia
Philippine Azkals head coach Hans Michael Weiss expects nothing but a dogfight against Indonesia in the second round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification tonight at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium.
The German mentor assures the home fans that the Azkals will go all-out to protect their turf at the scheduled 7 p.m. Group F match to boost their ranking as they play their last match of the qualifiers for 2023.
“I told the team what is important is how we will approach the game and how much we will imprint our philosophy, our attacking and aggressiveness,” Weiss said during the pre-match press conference yesterday.
“When we win our duels and the 50/50 balls, we have to give our 100 percent.”
The Philippines is coming off a 0-2 loss against Vietnam last Thursday while the Indonesians look to avenge their 1-5 defeat at the hands of Iraq.
Both the Azkals and Indonesia are winless but the Filipinos occupy the third place in Group F with a -2 goal difference compared to Indonesia which is in fourth place with a -4 goal difference.
Only the tournament’s top two teams will advance to the next round and automatically qualify for the 2027 Asian Football Confederation Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia.