‘Capellas Ball’ and a dream Schneider debut for the Philippine Men’s National Football Team

NEW CLARK CITY – Nearly eight thousand kilometers and a ten-hour plane journey separate Manila from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia where the 2027 AFC Asian Cup will be held in nearly two years’ time.

After missing out on the last edition, the Philippines aim to return to the biggest stage of Asian football, and their qualifying ambitions started off on the right direction with a 4-1 thrashing of Maldives in the final round of qualifiers for the tournament.

Defender Jeffrey Tabinas opened the scoring with an early goal in the 5th minute off of a corner, before Bjorn Kristensen doubled the lead in the 17th minute.

Maldives was outplayed in the first half, but threatened a comeback with a goal in the 52nd minute, only for Man of the Match Randy Schneider and Sandro Reyes to settle the result with late goals to send the Filipino fans into delirium.

Here are five things from the Philippines’ convincing victory:

1) Randy Schneider with a dream debut

As far as debuts go, things couldn’t have gone any better for the highly-touted Fil-Swiss.

Schneider, whose family hails from Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, showed his skill from the onset, bossing his defenders and creating havoc on the right wing.

The 23-year-old had a hand in all the Philippines’ goals, including setting up Kristensen’s goal with a sublime flick.

Switching to the left wing in the second half, he picked up where he left off and killed off the match with his well taken goal in the 77th minute.

“Very proud,” Schneider said when asked about his thoughts, post-match. “My motherland gave me a very good feeling.”

With this performance, he is equally giving a good feeling to Philippines’ fans, who are looking forward to him playing more games for the country.

2) ‘Capellas Ball’ on show

Yes, it was against a 162nd ranked Maldives, but on a rainy night in Tarlac, the Philippines played a brand of beautiful possession-based football that drew oohs and aaahs from the ever-appreciative crowd.

Yes, it was against a clearly overmatched Maldives side, but the team has bought in to the Albert Capellas philosophy and has shown glimpses of how they can play.

Intricate interplay between Sandro Reyes, Manny Ott and Zico Bailey made for a fun night of football, as social media was abuzz with “Capellas Ball” – certainly a style of football that is easy on the eyes.

More of the same, please.

3) Roster depth

Whisper it softly – with Schneider and debutante Josef Baccay in the fold, the Philippines has quietly assembled a roster with quite some depth in most positions. This will certainly serve the country in good stead, should games be played outside the FIFA window and should the club vs country debate will rear its ugly head again.

And lest we forget, the likes of Geritt Holtmann of the Bundesliga’s VfL Bochum and Javier Mariona, among others were not available in this window.

A deeper squad and competition for places will mean Albert Capellas will have the luxury of choosing the best 11 players to represent the country on the field.

4) New Clark City as a future venue

Many Manila-based fans were up in arms when the decision was made to play this home match at the New Clark City Athletics Stadium in faraway Capas, Tarlac.

But with Rizal Memorial Stadium under renovation, the choice to play in New Clark City turned out to be a massive blessing in disguise, as fans from the North of Manila had a chance to finally catch the Philippines’ games live, with fans from Pampanga and Pangasinan among the many who made sure to make be present in the stadium.

Fans from Manila who likewise braved the traffic in the North Luzon Expressway were finally treated to a football match played in natural grass.

The stadium is also fan-friendly, with relatively comfortable seating, numerous washrooms, and importantly for those fans used to Rizal Memorial’s bleacher section, protection from the rain.

Facilities for players, the press, and the organizing committees were great, and there are whispers of requests that more football games be held here, despite the distance from the capital city.

After all, fans have surely missed those knee slide celebrations on natural grass.

5) Tougher tests await

“Job done” were the first words uttered by Capellas in his post-match press conference after the 4-1 victory.

“[It’s] important to start with a win. I’m very happy as a coach.”

But make no mistake, there will be sterner tests ahead, starting with the 104th ranked Tajikistan.

The Tajiks will be keen on seeking revenge after a Phil Younghusband-led Philippines knocked them out of the 2019 Asian Cup qualifiers. Since then, the Tajiks have been on an upwards trajectory and will pose a significant challenge to the Philippines.

But with Philippine football likewise on the rise, it will be an interesting battle at home come June 10.

We can’t wait.

—JKC, GMA Integrated News