By Rodolfo Dacleson II
(March 26, 2025) – The Philippine men’s national football team (PMNFT) on Tuesday demolished Maldives, 4-1, behind the impressive debut of prized recruit Randy Schneider for a strong start in the 2027 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup Qualifiers at the New Clark City Athletics Stadium in Capas, Tarlac.
The Philippines bagged its first win in Group A in the third round of the qualifying tournament as the Filipino booters aim for a second appearance in the continental football conclave after their historic debut in 2019.
Before an over 3,000 crowd, Schneider led the way for the nationals with a goal and an assist to receive the Man of the Match honor.
“You can see it in the game, I felt good,” the Filipino-Swiss midfielder told reporters in the mixed zone. “The Philippine team has welcomed me since the first day, so I hope I can continue like this.”
Schneider, who plays for FC Winterthur in the Swiss Super League, scored his first goal for the Philippines in the 77th minute to restore a two-goal advantage against Maldives, 3-1, after Ali Fasir pulled one back two minutes after the hour mark.
The 23-year-old, meanwhile, tallied his assist in the 18th minute with Bjorn Kristensen converting the brilliant pass into a clinical strike for a two-nil lead for the home side heading to the half-time break.
It was Kristensen’s sixth goal in 12 appearances for the PMNFT, with three of those during the 2024 ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup (AMEC), where the Philippines reached the semifinals for the first time since 2018.
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Defender Jeff Tabinas opened the scoring in the sixth minute with an unmarked finish. He missed the country’s campaign in the 2024 AMEC since Thai League 1 club Buriram United did not release him due to the biennial meet being held outside the FIFA window.
Two minutes into stoppage time, Sandro Reyes hammered the final nail in the coffin by unleashing a right-footed strike with an assist from Josef Baccay, who came in as a substitute in the second half for his first-ever international appearance for the Southeast Asian side.
In the absence of Gerrit Holtman, the nationals found little to no problem in scoring as they dominated ball possession for the majority of the match. The Filipino-German winger, who’s playing for VfL Bochum in the Bundesliga, was ruled out due to his injury and his club’s bid to stay in Germany’s topflight league.
“I maybe attack a game thinking that I can draw, or I have to draw, or I only want to lose 1-0 or 2-0. It doesn’t matter against who we play. We always start the games thinking that we really have big chances to win,” said PMNFT head coach Albert Capellas in a post-match media conference.
The Philippines will host Tajikistan for their next match in June. Only the group winner will advance to the 2027 AFC Asian Cup.
(JREC)
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