Philippines ends FIFA World Cup Qualifiers bid with loss to Indonesia

The Philippine men's national football team closed out its 2026 FIFA World Cup AFC Qualifiers with another loss, absorbing a 2-0 beating at the hands of Indonesia on Tuesday in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The Filipinos will end the qualification round with a winless slate after a 0-1-5 win-draw-loss card in Group F as Iraq currently tops the pool with an impressive 5-0-0 record followed by Indonesia (3-1-2) and Vietnam (2-0-3) at second and third spots, respectively.

Thom Jan Haye and Rizky Ridho Ramadhani converted the goals for the hosts at the 32nd and 56th minute marks as they held the Philippines scoreless all throughout the game. With the win, Indonesia has advanced to the third and final round of the World Cup qualifiers alongside top seed Iraq. 

All is not lost, however, for the Philippines as despite exiting the World Cup qualifiers, the country remains in contention for a 2027 AFC Asian Cup slot after being relegated to the third round of its qualification stages. 

The Philippines could only come up with one point after ending its previous clash against Indonesia in a 1-1 draw last November at the Rizal Memorial Stadium. Since then, they lost four games in a row to bow out of contention. 

—Bea Micaller/JKC, GMA Integrated News