The Philippines national football team () represents the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

in men's international

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

, governed by the

Philippine Football Federation The Philippine Football Federation (PFF) is the governing body of association football in the Philippines. Established as the Philippine Amateur Football Association (PAFA) in 1907, the PFF is one of the oldest national football associations in ...

(PFF) and has been playing internationally since 1913. Prior to

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the Philippines had regularly competed with

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

and the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

in the

Far Eastern Championship Games The Far Eastern Championship Games (also known as the Far Eastern Championships, Far Eastern Games or Far East Games) was an Asian multi-sport event considered to be a precursor to the Asian Games. History In 1913, Elwood Brown, president of ...

. So far, the national team has never qualified for the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

and has qualified for the

AFC Asian Cup The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the continental champion of Asia. It is the second-oldest c ...

only once, in 2019. They finished second at the

2014 AFC Challenge Cup The 2014 AFC Challenge Cup was the fifth and the final edition of the AFC Challenge Cup, an international Association football, football competition for Asian Football Confederation (AFC) member nations that are mainly categorized as "emerging co ...

after losing to

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

in the final. Unlike most of

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

where football is the most popular sport, the Philippines' most popular

sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...

are

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

and

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

, inherited from American rule. Often, the Philippines would suffer group stage eliminations at the

AFF Championship The ASEAN Championship (formerly known as the AFF Championship or AFF Cup), currently known as the ASEAN Hyundai Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the biennial football tournament organized by the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) for men's natio ...

. However, since the

2010 AFF Championship The 2010 AFF Championship, sponsored by Suzuki and P&G and officially known as the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup, was the 8th edition of the AFF Championship, took place on 1–29 December 2010. Indonesia and Vietnam hosted the group stage from 1 to 8 De ...

, the country has attempted to develop football as part of the sport's renaissance, finding more incentives to increase football development and fan support.

History

1910s–1940s: Early years

Philippines 1930 Far Eastern Games squad

The Philippines participated in the

, which included football. The first edition was in

1913 Events January * January – Joseph Stalin travels to Vienna to research his ''Marxism and the National Question''. This means that, during this month, Stalin, Hitler, Trotsky and Tito are all living in the city. * January 3 &ndash ...

and the last was in

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...

. The games were the first regional football tournament for national teams outside the

British Home Championship The British Home Championship (historically known as the British International Championship or simply the International Championship) was an annual football competition contested between the United Kingdom's four national teams: England, Scotlan ...

. The national team routinely faced

and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

and at one edition the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...

at the games. The Philippines won over China at the inaugural tournament with a scoreline of 2–1. During the

1917 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 9 – WWI – Battle of Rafa: The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary Force's ...

edition, the national team achieved its biggest win in international football. Led by Filipino-Spanish icon Paulino Alcantara, the Philippines defeated Japan 15–2. After the dissolution of the Far Eastern Championship Games, the national squad participated in the

1940 East Asian Games The East Asian Games (, ''Tōa Kyōgi Taikai''), also known as the Asian Development Games (, ''Kōa Kyōgi Taikai'') were multi-sport events organized by the Japan Association of Athletics Federations (JAAA). The games were meant to be a replacem ...

organized to commemorate the 2600th anniversary of the foundation of the

Empire of Japan The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...

Emperor Jimmu was the legendary first emperor of Japan according to the and . His ascension is traditionally dated as 660 BC.Kelly, Charles F"Kofun Culture"Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

and second placers

Manchukuo Manchukuo, officially known as the State of Manchuria prior to 1934 and the Empire of Great Manchuria thereafter, was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Northeast China that existed from 1932 until its dissolution in 1945. It was ostens ...

, and ahead of the

1950s–1990s: Decline of football

In the 1950s the Philippines hosted friendlies with international-based sides, However, the national team experienced lack of funding and barely received any coverage from the media. During that time talents from the national team were drawn from the Manila Football League which received substantial support from the

Chinese-Filipino Chinese Filipinos (sometimes referred as Filipino Chinese or Chinoy/Tsinoy in the Philippines) are Filipinos of Chinese descent with ancestry mainly from Fujian, but are typically born and raised in the Philippines. Chinese Filipinos are one ...

community. The national team's decent performance at the

1958 Asian Games The 1958 Asian Games, officially the Third Asian Games () and commonly known as Tokyo 1958 (), were a multi-sport event held in Tokyo, Japan, from 24 May to 1 June 1958. It was governed by the Asian Games Federation. A total of 1,820 athletes repr ...

, hosted in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, where they defeated Japan 1–0, was labeled as an upset by the Japanese press. The years following 1958 saw the decline of Philippine football, as several key players resigned from the national team due to financial challenges for playing. National team players

Ed Ocampo Edgardo Luciano Ocampo (October 5, 1938 – July 29, 1992) was a Filipino basketball player and coach. Early life and education Ocampo was born in Pampanga, Philippines, on October 5 1938. He was one of four children of architects Fernand ...

and Eduardo Pacheco switched to basketball, and went on playing for commercial basketball clubs where players are paid. The Philippine Congress passed Republic Act 3135 that revised the charter of the

Philippine Amateur Athletic Federation The Philippine Amateur Athletic Federation (PAAF) was the governing body of sports in the Philippines and the predecessor of the Philippine Olympic Committee. History The Philippine Amateur Athletic Federation was organized in a permanent basi ...

, which had a provision, or a 60-40 rule, that mandated teams to not have more than 40 percent Chinese and other players with foreign blood. Sponsors withdrew and leagues, which were mostly funded by the Chinese-Filipino community, started to decline. The 60–40 rule was lifted much later during the tenure of president Johnny Romualdez of the

(PFF), after 1982 when the PFA had reorganized itself as the PFF. The national team suffered defeats with big margins at the

1962 Asian Games The 1962 Asian Games () also known as the 4th Asian Games, IV Asiad, and Jakarta 1962, were the fourth edition of pan-Asian multi-sport event sanctioned by the Asian Games Federation (AGF). The games were held from 24 August to 4 September 1962, ...

Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...

. This includes the national team's record 15–1 defeat to

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

, which became the worst defeat of the national team at that time. The record was later broken by the 15–0 loss to Japan in 1967 at the qualifiers for the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Mexico 1968 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 October 1968, in Mexico City, Mexico. These were the first Ol ...

. Foreigners were hired to serve as head coaches for the national team in an attempt to reduce big margin loses. Englishman Allan Rogers was hired following the record defeat to Malaysia, and Spaniard

Juan Cutillas Juan Cutillas España is a retired Spanish professional footballer and manager. He is a former manager of the Philippines national football team. Education Cutillas studied medicine against the wishes of his father who had wanted him to enter la ...

was likewise tasked to lead the national team following the record defeat to Japan. In the early sixties, the Philippine Football Association partnered with the

San Miguel Corporation San Miguel Corporation (), abbreviated as SMC, is a Philippine multinational conglomerate with headquarters in Mandaluyong, Metro Manila. The company is one of the largest and most diversified conglomerates in the Philippines. Originally fo ...

to seek foreign assistance to train local football players and coaches and to develop the sport in the country. These included Alan Rogers and Brian Birch, coaches from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. After the two were relieved, Danny McClellan and Graham Adams continued their task. In 1961, San Miguel, through the national football association, brought in four medical students from Spain who were experts in football — Francisco Escarte, Enrique dela Mata, Claudio Sanchez and

. Escarte and dela Mata left the country after one year. In 1971, head coach Juan Cutillas recruited five foreign players to play for the national team: four Spaniards and one Chinese. The national team joined several international competitions such as the

Merdeka Tournament Merdeka Tournament () is an international friendly football tournament held in Malaysia to commemorate the Independence Day. It is mainly played at Independence Stadium, in Kuala Lumpur. "Merdeka" is the Malay word for independence. As of 202 ...

Jakarta Anniversary Tournament The Jakarta Anniversary Tournament was a football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ...

and the President Park Tournament. The team caused some upset results against the national teams of

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

and

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

. The national team saw another decline after the four Spanish players left the team due to financial reasons and basketball gained more foothold over football in the country. The national team under German head coach Eckhard Krautzun finished fourth overall at the

1991 Southeast Asian Games The 1991 Southeast Asian Games, officially known as the 16th Southeast Asian Games, were a multi-sport event held in Manila, the Philippines, from 24 November to 5 December 1991, with 28 sports featured in the games. This was the second time th ...

, its best ever finish at the tournament. The Philippines dealt a 1–0 defeat to defending champions

at the tournament which knocked out the latter out of the tournament at just the group stage. Norman Fegidero scored the sole goal for the Philippines.

2000s

In September 2006, the country fell to 195th on the

FIFA World Rankings The FIFA Men's World Ranking is a ranking system for men's national teams in association football, first introduced in December 1992. The men's teams of the member nations of FIFA, football's world governing body, are ranked based on their gam ...

, its lowest ever. By the end of the year, the Philippines moved back up to 171st overall, after a good run in the 2007 AFF Championship qualification. They were able to win three games in a row, which was a first for the Philippines and thus qualifying for the

2007 AFF Championship The 2007 AFF Championship (officially designated as the ASEAN Football Championship 2007) was the 6th edition of the AFF Championship, the Association football, football championship of Southeast Asia. The group stage was co-hosted by Singapore ...

. Coach at that time Aris Caslib, aimed to reach the semifinals with two wins at the group stage. The decision came despite Philippine Football Federation president Juan Miguel Romualdez stating that they would still be underdogs in the tournament and that they should not raise their expectations too high, as the Philippines have only gotten their first ever win of the tournament during the

2004 AFF Championship The 2004 AFF Championship (officially known as the 2004 Tiger Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 5th edition of the AFF Championship, the football championship of nations affiliated to the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF), and the last time und ...

. The Philippines eventually failed to reach their target, only getting a draw in three matches. Their poor performances led to Caslib's resignation, as well as the refusal of the PFF to register and enter the qualification stages for the

2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

. They would be one of four nations, all from

, not to enter after a record number of entries. However, it was revealed that the decision not to enter the 2010, as well as the 2006 World Cup qualification, was made during the PFF presidency of Rene Adad, whose term ended in 2003. Instead, the PFF wanted to focus on domestic and regional competitions. The Philippines failed to qualify for any major competition in 2008. They missed out on the

2008 AFC Challenge Cup The 2008 AFC Challenge Cup football tournament was organised by AFC and was hosted by India. The tournament was played from 30 July – 13 August 2008. India won the final against Tajikistan. India was also the winner of the fair play award an ...

only on

goal difference Goal difference, goal differential or points difference is a form of tiebreaker used to rank sport teams which finish on equal points in a league competition. Either "goal difference" or "points difference" is used, depending on whether matches ar ...

, and the

2008 AFF Championship The 2008 AFF Championship was the seventh edition of the tournament. It was primarily sponsored by Suzuki and therefore officially known as the 2008 AFF Suzuki Cup. The group stage was held in Indonesia and Thailand from 5 to 10 December 2008. T ...

with an inferior goals scored record.

Dan Palami Dan Stephen Castillo Palami (born June 9, 1970) is a Filipino business and sports executive. He was the general manager of the Philippine men's national football team from 2009 to 2024. He is credited for his contributions to the revival of f ...

, businessman and sports patron, was appointed as team manager of the national team in 2009 by the Philippine Football Federation. The national team still received minimal support from the government. Palami made financial investments into the team using his own personal money. Since taking responsibility over the national team, he envisioned a plan named Project 100, which aimed to make the team among the top 100 national teams in the world in terms of FIFA rankings. More foreign-born Filipinos were called up to play for the national squad.

2010s: Era of renaissance

The Philippines's campaign at the

under Simon McMenemy's tenure was a breakthrough. Holding a primal ticket as one of two teams along with

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

that had to qualify for the tournament, the Philippines advanced from the group stage for the first time, did not concede a single defeat, and their win against defending champions

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

in particular was considered one of the biggest upsets in the tournament's history. The match, which would later be referred by local Filipino fans as the " Miracle of Hanoi", is also considered the match that started a football renaissance in the country where basketball is the more popular sport. In the knockout stage, they had to play both their designated home and away games against

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

due to the unavailability of a stadium that passes AFF standards. The Philippines lost both games to end their campaign. The following year, Michael Weiß became the head coach. The national team managed to qualify for the 2012 edition of the

AFC Challenge Cup The AFC Challenge Cup was an international football competition for Asian Football Confederation (AFC) member countries that were categorised as "emerging countries" in the "Vision Asia" programme. It was created by former AFC president Mohammed ...

, the first time since qualifiers were introduced and also recorded their first ever victory in the

FIFA World Cup qualification The FIFA World Cup qualification is a set of competitive matches that a national association football team plays in order to qualify for one of the available berths at the final tournament of the men's FIFA World Cup. Qualifying tournaments ar ...

, beating

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

4–0 in the second leg of the first preliminary round.

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

finished the Philippines' World Cup qualification campaign after winning over them twice in the second round. In 2012, the Philippines qualified for the semifinals of the

for the first time winning over former champions

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and

Tajikistan Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...

, though they lost 2–1 against

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...

in the semifinal. In the third place-playoff the Philippines won 4–3 over

. The Philippines won the

2012 Philippine Peace Cup The 2012 Philippine Peace Cup was the inaugural edition of the tournament, four-nation international football competition organized by the Philippine Football Federation (PFF). It was originally slated for October 12–16 but the PFF moved it t ...

, a friendly tournament hosted at home, which was their first title since the 1913

Far Eastern Games The Far Eastern Championship Games (also known as the Far Eastern Championships, Far Eastern Games or Far East Games) was an Asian multi-sport event considered to be a precursor to the Asian Games. History In 1913, Elwood Brown, president o ...

. At the

2012 AFF Championship The 2012 AFF Championship, sponsored by Suzuki and officially known as the 2012 AFF Suzuki Cup, was the 9th edition of the AFF Championship, the football championship of Southeast Asia. It was co-hosted for group stage by Malaysia and Thailand a ...

, the Philippines replicated their performance in 2010 by advancing to the semifinal. They lost to

on aggregate by a single goal in the two-legged semifinal. The Philippines reached the final of the

. With a berth to the

2015 AFC Asian Cup The 2015 AFC Asian Cup was the 16th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international association football, football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It was held in Australia from 9 to 31 January 201 ...

on the line, the Philippines lost to

1–0 on May 30. The Philippines once again advanced from the group stage at the

2014 AFF Championship The 2014 AFF Championship, sponsored by Suzuki and officially known as the 2014 AFF Suzuki Cup, was the 10th edition of the AFF Championship, an international association football competition consisting of national teams of member nations of the ...

by winning over

, the first time since the 1934 Far Eastern Games, and

despite their loss to

. The Philippines faced

in the two-legged semifinal, coming up with a goalless draw against their opponents at home in Manila but losing the away match at

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

Thomas Dooley Thomas Dooley (born May 12, 1961) is a former association football, soccer player and coach. He played as a Defender (association football), defender and defensive midfielder and was a long-time member and former captain of the United States me ...

became the head coach of the national team. In October 2015 their 2–0 victory over

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

Doha Doha ( ) is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor (city), Al Khor and Lusail, it is home to most of the country's population. It ...

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

in the

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded t ...

and 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers was their first-ever World Cup qualifier victory away from home. Their campaign to qualify for the FIFA World Cup ended in the second round though they advance to the third round of the Asian Cup qualifiers. In late 2016 the Philippines jointly hosted the group stage of the

with

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

though they fail to progress from the group stage like they did in the past three editions. Philippines national football team 20191601

Though the national team failed to qualify for the

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, they secured qualification for

2019 AFC Asian Cup The 2019 AFC Asian Cup (or commonly called the Asian Cup 2019) was the 17th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, the quadrennial international association football, football championship of Asia organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) ...

after defeating

, 2–1 at home in their final qualifier match. In May 2018, the national team reached 111th rank in the

FIFA World Ranking The FIFA Men's World Ranking is a ranking system for men's national teams in association football, first introduced in December 1992. The men's teams of the member nations of FIFA, football's world governing body, are ranked based on their gam ...

making it the highest rank that the team has. The Philippines made its historic debut in the

with a 0–1 defeat to

. then a 0–3 loss to

and was edged 1–3 by

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir Mountains, Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Kyrgyzstan, largest city. Kyrgyz ...

, with

Stephan Schröck Stephan Markus Cabizares Schröck (; born 21 August 1986) is a football coach and professional player who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger. Born in Germany to a German father and Filipino mother, Schröck was a youth international f ...

scoring a historic goal for the Azkals in the tournament.

2020–''present''

Following a relatively successful debut in the Asian Cup, the Philippines began their

2022 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification was the FIFA World Cup qualification, qualifying process which decided the 31 teams that would join hosts Qatar national football team, Qatar, who received an automatic spot, at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Par ...

where they were grouped together with

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

and

Maldives The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in South Asia located in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, abou ...

. In their opening game, the Azkals met Syria at home and took an early lead, only to see the Syrians manage an outstanding comeback and smash the Azkals 5–2 in

Bacolod Bacolod, officially the City of Bacolod (; ; ; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Negros Island Region in the Philippines. With a total of 600,783 inhabitants as of the 2020 census, it is th ...

. Following the crushing home defeat, the Pinoys regained its pace with two away wins over Guam and the Maldives. Between these matches, the Pinoys also hosted China at home where they acquired an encouraging goalless draw, after a splendid performance by the Azkals goalkeeper

Neil Etheridge Neil Leonard Dula Etheridge (born 7 February 1990) is a professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for Thai League 1 club Buriram United F.C., Buriram United and captains the Phil ...

which increased the team's chance. However, the Syrians once again blew the chance of the Filipinos, with the Syrians emerging with a 1–0 win over the Azkals. When

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

led the games to be postponed to 2021, the Philippines had to play in a centralised venue in

Sharjah Sharjah (; ', Gulf Arabic: ''aš-Šārja'') is the List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, third-most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, after Dubai and Abu Dhabi. It is the capital of the Emirate of Sharjah and forms part of the D ...

. The Filipinos then won against Guam 3–0, but lost 0–2 to China and thus did not manage to reach the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

, before ending the qualification with a 1–1 draw to the Maldives. Nonetheless, the third place in their group meant the Philippines qualified for the third round of 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers. At the third round of the

2023 AFC Asian Cup The 2023 AFC Asian Cup was the 18th edition of the AFC Asian Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It involved 24 national teams after its expansion in 20 ...

qualifiers in

Ulaanbaatar Ulaanbaatar is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities in Mongolia, most populous city of Mongolia. It has a population of 1.6 million, and it is the coldest capital city in the world by average yearly temperature. The municipa ...

, the Philippines managed to draw with

0–0 and defeat the hosts

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

1–0 through a last-minute goal by debutant Gerrit Holtmann but were defeated 4–0 by eventual group winners

. Despite finishing second in

Group B Group B was a set of regulations for Grand tourer, grand touring (GT) cars used in sports car racing and rallying introduced in 1982 by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Although permitted to enter a GT class of the World S ...

, in which the five best runner-up teams across all the groups qualify for the tournament, the Azkals failed to qualify for the

after finishing as the worst runner-up. Philippines then played in the second round of the

2026 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification will decide the 45 teams that will join hosts Canada men's national soccer team, Canada, Mexico national football team, Mexico, and the United States men's national soccer team, United States at the 2026 FIFA ...

being place alongside

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

and two regional rivals, Indonesia and Vietnam. The team the finished last in the table with 1 draw against Indonesia on November 21, 2023, and 5 losses. Long-time general manager, Dan Palami stepped down from his role in January 2024. In 2024, Philippines was invited by Malaysia for the 2024 Merdeka Tournament in September and Thailand for the 2024 King's Cup in October. Philippines then played in the

2024 ASEAN Championship The 2024 ASEAN Championship (officially the ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2024 due to sponsorship reasons) was the 15th edition of the ASEAN Championship (formerly the AFF Championship) association football, football tournament of nations affili ...

drawing 1–1 all their first group stage match against

and

. Needing a win in their final group stage fixtures against Indonesia, against all odds, Philippines went on to win 1–0 after Bjørn Martin Kristensen scored from the penalty spot to secure a spot in the semi-finals where the team didn't lose a game in the group stage. During the first leg of the semi-finals match on December 27 against Thailand, with the match coming to an end, Kike Linares scored in the 90+5' stoppage time header to secured a 2–1 win which then see Philippines beating Thailand for the first time in 52 years.

Team image

Supporters

Some fans have organized themselves to support the national team, one of them is the Ultras Filipinas, which formed in 2011. The Kaholeros started out as a gathering of friends using

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

calling for fans to watch games of the

at the National Sports Grill in

Greenbelt A green belt or greenbelt is a policy, and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts are greenways or gree ...

. The 'Ultras Filipinas' was established when fans of

Philippine Air Force The Philippine Air Force (PAF) () is the aerial warfare service branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Initially formed as part of the Philippine Army as the Philippine Army Air Corps (PAAC) in 1935, the PAAC eventually saw combat ...

and 'Ultras Kayas' decided to form a support group for the national teams of the Philippines not necessarily just for the football team. The first outing of Ultras Filipinas was not for the national football team but for the national rugby union team. The two fan groups take alternative turns in cheering and chanting for the national team during games.

Colors

The traditional home kit is similar to the France national team; blue jersey, white shorts, and red socks. However, in recent times, the home and away kit has either been all-blue, all-red or all-white, currently is the all-white as home jerseys. The current kit supplier of the national team is German sportswear Puma.

Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized in all lowercase since 1949) is a German athletic apparel and footwear corporation headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the ...

, as well as Japanese company Mizuno, has provided kits for the team in the past. Puma was the official outfitter of the national team during the

1996 AFC Asian Cup qualification The 1996 AFC Asian Cup qualification involved 33 participating teams. The United Arab Emirates (hosts) and Japan (holders) qualified automatically for the 1996 AFC Asian Cup. Qualification Group 1 *All matches played in Vietnam. ---- ...

. Later that year,

assumed that role and outfitted the team that participated at the

1996 Tiger Cup The 1996 AFF Championship, sponsored by Asia Pacific Breweries and officially known as the 1996 Tiger Cup, was the inaugural edition of the AFF Championship. It was hosted by Singapore from 1 to 15 September 1996 with all 10 nations of Southeas ...

. For three years from March 2008, Mizuno served as the official outfitter and equipment supplier of the team. It also helped the national federation in its grassroots development program. On June 4, 2012, Puma supplanted Mizuno's role with the national team. Local firm

LGR Sportswear LGR Athletic Wears, Inc., also known as LGR Sportswear, is a Philippine sportswear manufacturer based in San Andres, Manila. The firm provides the official uniforms of teams playing in major basketball and volleyball leagues in the Philippines ...

became the official kit provider of the national team in 2015 and a new set of kits made by LGR were unveiled to the public on June 5 which was later used by the team at the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. The home and away kits were white and blue respectively. Filipino weave design and the three stars and the sun are present at the back of the home and away kits. The goalkeeper's kit is black and has a yellow trim on the chest area and a weave pattern with the three stars and the sun and Azkals logo incorporated in the design, in front around the shoulder area. Adidas was also announced as the footwear sponsor of the team for the qualifiers. Spanish sportswear brand Kelme became the official kit provider of the national team in 2021. In June 2022, the team used Chronos Athletics-made kits when they competed in the third round of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers in Mongolia. It was later explained that the Kelme kits they were supposed to wear arrived late. Following Kelme's deal with the Philippines expiring in January 2023, local sportswear brand Chronos Athletics finally became the Philippines' new kit supplier. In March 2023, following a

TikTok TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...

video that went viral, presenting a concept shirt for the Philippines. The management then decided to acquire the design made by JerseyBird, a small US-based sportswear brand. Chronos Athletics remained as the kit supplier, with both sides agreed to retain the JerseyBird logo on the kits and to be distributed under a subsidiary brand, Azkals Sportswear. In the recent

match against Iraq, the Philippines were seen wearing a new kit design supplied by Puma. On May 3, 2024, Philippines announced a four-year partnership with Puma until 2028.

Names

Under the official FIFA Trigramme the team's name is abbreviated as PHI; this acronym is used by

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

, the AFC and the AFF to identify the team in official competitions. The team is also identified under the

International Organization for Standardization The International Organization for Standardization (ISO ; ; ) is an independent, non-governmental, international standard development organization composed of representatives from the national standards organizations of member countries. M ...

(ISO)

country code A country code is a short alphanumeric identification code for countries and dependent areas. Its primary use is in data processing and communications. Several identification systems have been developed. The term ''country code'' frequently re ...

for the Philippines as PHL. However the team was more commonly known as the RP, the acronym for the country's official name, ''Republika ng Pilipinas'', which the local press used when they referred to the team as the "RP Booters" or the "RP XI". This was until late October 2010 when the

Department of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral re ...

decided to change the official abbreviation of the country from "RP" to "PH" or "PHL", to be in line with ISO standards. The local press have since referred to the team as either "PH/PHL Booters" or "PH/PHL XI". They were also known as the "Tri–Stars," which was derived from the three stars on the

Philippine flag The national flag of the Philippines () is a horizontal List of flags by design#Bicolour, bicolor flag with equal bands of royal blue and Crimson, crimson red, with a white, equilateral chevron at the Glossary of vexillology#Flag elements, hois ...

, although this nickname was not frequently used. The national team was referred to as the "Azkals". The name was coined when an online Philippine football community proposed the nickname ''Calle Azul'' (Spanish for ''Streets of Blue'', referring to the color of their kit) which was modified to ''Azul Calle'', shortened to ''AzCal'', and finally became ''Azkal'' – a word that is similar to Filipino term ''

Askal Askal (portmanteau of ''asong kalye'', meaning " street dog"), also called aspin (portmanteau of ''asong Pinoy'', meaning "Filipino dog"), refers to the diverse population of mongrel free-ranging dogs found in the Philippines. The term "as ...

'' meaning street dog. "Azkals" became a trending topic on Twitter during the semifinals of the

. The name would be officially adopted by the PFF during the tenure of general team manager

until 2023. Its discontinuation of its use by the federation was confirmed in February 2024. The Azkals name would be adopted by an independent 7-a-side club in 2024 competing in the 7's Football League led by Palami and former national team players. There are no serious efforts to replace the "Azkals" moniker as of December 2024.

Home stadium

During the early years of the Philippine national team, they played their home matches at the

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

Carnival Grounds. By 1934 it became the site of the

Rizal Memorial Sports Complex The Rizal Memorial Sports Complex (RMSC; formerly known as Rizal Memorial Field) is a national sports complex of the Philippines, located on Pablo Ocampo St. (formerly Vito Cruz St.), Malate, Manila. It is named in honor of the country's national ...

. One of the facilities within the complex is the 12,000 capacity

national stadium Many countries have a national sport stadium, which typically serves as the primary or exclusive home for one or more of a country's national representative sports teams. The term is most often used in reference to an association football ...

, known as the Rizal Memorial Track and Football Stadium or simply the Rizal Memorial Stadium. Since its opening, it has been the home venue of the Philippine national team until May 2015 when they declared the 25,000 seater and Philippine Sports Stadium in

Bocaue, Bulacan Bocaue , officially the Municipality of Bocaue (), is a municipality in the province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 141,412 people. Among its tourist attractions are a town museum located near th ...

as their new home. However, due to disappointing attendance numbers in PSS and RMS and an impressive crowd for Ceres–Negros's run to the

2017 AFC Cup The 2017 AFC Cup was the 14th edition of the AFC Cup, Asia's secondary club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Defending champions Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya defeated Istiklol in the final to win their second AFC Cu ...

, the

decided to make Panaad Stadium the national team's home again for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers. The RMS has also become a hub for

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

. The continued use for athletics along with poor maintenance has deteriorated the stadium and the

was the last time it was used for international football matches.vIn early 2009, the

Philippine Sports Commission The Philippine Sports Commission (PSC; ) is an agency of the Philippine government that tackles matters concerning sports in the country. The sports agency is independent from the Philippine Olympic Committee, a privately-ran organization that e ...

planned to transform it to a modern football stadium which would make it usable by the national team for international matches. The national team also held official international matches at the Cebu City Sports Center in

Cebu City Cebu City, officially the City of Cebu, is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 964,169 people, making ...

, and at the Barotac Nuevo Plaza Field in Barotac Nuevo,

Iloilo Iloilo ( ; ), officially the Province of Iloilo (; ; ; ), is a province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital and largest city is Iloilo City, the regional center of Western Visayas and politically independen ...

Results and fixtures

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

2024

2025

2026

Technical staff

Current technical staff

Management

Coaching history

One of the earlier head coaches of the national team was Dionisio Calvo. Foreign coaches of American, Argentinean, English, German, Scottish, Spanish, and Swedish nationality have managed the national team.

has managed the team in at least four non-consecutive tenures (1969–1978, 1981–1984, 1996–2000 and 2008–09).

led the national team to its best finish in a tournament sanctioned by the

Asian Football Confederation The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is the governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal in most countries and territories in Asia. The AFC was formed in 1954. It has 47 members. The Asian Ladies Football Confederation ( ...

and

by leading the team to second place at the

. The past three coaches, Simon McMenemy, Michael Weiß and Thomas Dooley, also made some strides at the regional level leading the team to the semifinals at the

AFF Suzuki Cup The ASEAN Championship (formerly known as the AFF Championship or AFF Cup), currently known as the ASEAN Hyundai Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the biennial football tournament organized by the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) for men's nation ...

(

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

and

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

editions respectively), the top football tournament in

. Eckhard Krautzun also led the national team to the semifinals, its best finish at the

, before football became an under-23 tournament at said multi-sporting event. :Caretaker managers are listed in ''italics''. * Dionisio Calvo (1930–1954) * Jose Rodriguez (1934) * Jose Ozamis (1935) * Luis Javellana (1956) * Ramon Echevarria Sr. (1958) * Fernando Giménez Álvarez (1962) * Alan Rogers (1962–1963) * Danny McLennan (1963) * Orlando Plagata (1965) * Emilio Pacheco (1967) *//

(1967–1972, 1975–1978, 1981–1984) * Florentino Broce (1973–1974) * Bernhard Zgoll (1980) * Alberto Honasan (1987) * Carlos Cavagnaro (1989) * Consorcio Manresa (1991) * Eckhard Krautzun (1991–1992) * Mariano Araneta (1993) *

Rodolfo Alicante Rodolfo "Dolfo" Alicante Guanzon is a retired Filipino professional footballer and manager. He was coach at Far Eastern University Far Eastern University (), also referred to by its acronym FEU, is a Private university, private research non ...

(1993) * Noel Casilao (1993–1996) *

(1996–2000, 2008–2009) * Rodolfo Alicante (2000) * Masataka Imai (2001) * Sugao Kambe (2002–2003) * Aris Caslib (2004–2007) * Norman Fegidero (2008) * Aris Caslib (2009) * Des Bulpin (2009–2010) * Simon McMenemy (2010) * Michael Weiß (2011–2014, 2023–24) *

(2014–2018, 2022) * ''

Marlon Maro Marlon Maro (born June 21, 1965) is a Filipino football coach and former international football player. He was the head coach of the Philippines women's national football team in 2021. Club career Maro played as a player for U.S F.C., US. Int ...

'' (2017) *

Terry Butcher Terry Ian Butcher (born 28 December 1958) is an English football manager and former player. During his playing career as a defender, Butcher captained the England national team, winning 77 caps in a ten-year international career that feature ...

(2018) * '' Scott Cooper'' (2018) * '' Anto Gonzales'' (2018) *

Sven-Göran Eriksson Sven-Göran Eriksson (; 5 February 1948 – 26 August 2024) was a Swedish association football, football player and Coach (sport), manager. After a playing career as a right-back, Eriksson went on to experience major success in club management ...

(2018–2019) * Goran Milojević (2019) * '' Scott Cooper'' (2019) * '' Stewart Hall'' (2021–2022) * Josep Ferré (2022–2023) * Barae Jrondi (2023) *

Tom Saintfiet Tom Saintfiet (born 29 March 1973) is a Belgian football coach and former player. He is the current head coach of the Mali national team. He managed the Gambian national team from 2018 to 2024, earning a place in the top five list of best coa ...

(2024) * '' Norman Fegidero'' (2024) * Albert Capellas (2024–2025) * ''

Carles Cuadrat Carles Cuadrat Xiqués (born 28 October 1968) is a Spanish professional football manager and former player who is the interim head coach of the Philippines national team. Cuadrat was a defender, who played as a left-back and spent most of hi ...

'' (2025–present) *

Players

Current squad

The following 24 players were called up for the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers against

. ''Caps and goals updated as of June 10, 2025, after the match against

.''

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for the Philippines within the past 12 months. ^INJ Withdrew due to an injury
^PRE Included in the preliminary squad
^RET Retired from the national team
^SUS Serving suspension

Player records

:''Players in bold are still active.''

Most appearances

Top goalscorers

Competition records

''For the head-to-head record of the national team against opposing nations, see the team's'' ''head-to-head record page''.

FIFA World Cup

The Philippines has never qualified for the FIFA World Cup. The national team entered the

1950 FIFA World Cup qualification A total of 34 teams entered the qualification rounds of the 1950 FIFA World Cup, competing for a total of 16 spots in the final tournament. Brazil, as the hosts, and Italy, as the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 14 spots ope ...

but withdrew without playing a single game. The Philippines had intended to enter the 1962 edition but did not push through with the plan. The country's entry to the 1966 edition was not accepted due to its association not being able to pay the registration fee for the qualifiers and the national team withdrew from the

1974 FIFA World Cup qualification 99 teams entered the 1974 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds, competing for 16 places in the final tournament. West Germany, as the hosts, and Brazil, as the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 14 spots open for competition. T ...

just as they did in the 1950 qualifiers. The national team made its first participation in a FIFA World Cup qualifiers for the 1998 edition. At the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, Yanti Barsales made the first goal for the Philippines at a FIFA World Cup qualifier against

. The national team did not enter the qualifiers for the next succeeding editions until the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, about 10 years later. The national team secured their first victory in a World Cup qualifier against

, 4–0.

Olympic Games

AFC Asian Cup

The Philippines qualified once for the Asian Cup, in 2019. For the 2011 and the

, the Philippines attempted to qualify for the tournament through the AFC Challenge Cup. The Philippines would have been invited to host the 1968 Asian Cup, a tournament in which it did not qualify for, if Iran withdrew as hosts.

Asian Games

AFC Challenge Cup

The AFC Challenge Cup was organized as a route for nations classified as "emerging" or "developing" as a sole route to qualify for the

Asian Cup The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior list of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the contin ...

. The Philippines is among these nations and participated at the inaugural

2006 AFC Challenge Cup The 2006 AFC Challenge Cup was held between 1 and 16 April 2006 in Bangladesh. Sixteen teams were split into four groups, the top two in each group qualifying for the quarterfinals, and from then on a straight knockout contest. There was no qual ...

. After a qualification phase was introduced the Philippines failed to qualify for the next two succeeding editions in

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

and

. The Philippines qualified for the

2012 AFC Challenge Cup The 2012 AFC Challenge Cup was the fourth edition of the tournament, an international football competition for Asian Football Confederation (AFC) member nations that are mainly categorized as "emerging countries" in the defunct Vision Asia progr ...

where they finished third.

Phil Younghusband Philip James Younghusband Jr. (born 4 August 1987) is a former professional Association football, footballer who played mostly as a Forward (association football), striker and sometimes as a midfielder. Younghusband is best known for his perfo ...

was the Golden Boot winner of the edition scoring six goals in the final tournament. The team reached the finals of

edition of the tournament settling for second place after losing to

in the finals. The AFC Challenge Cup tournament was dissolved after the 2014 edition.

Far Eastern Games

Out of the ten football tournaments held in ten editions of the

, The Philippines only won the inaugural 1913 edition despite fielding American, Spanish and British players violating tournament rules in that edition. The team was nevertheless named champions. China was awarded champions of the nine other editions of the tournaments. At the 1917 Far Eastern Games, the Philippines recorded its biggest victory in an international match to date, which was the 15–2 win against Japan.

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly known as FC Barcelona and colloquially as Barça (), is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of ...

player

Paulino Alcántara Paulino Alcántara Riestrá (7 October 1896 – 13 February 1964) was a Filipino and Spanish professional footballer and manager who played as a forward. He spent most of his playing career at FC Barcelona, and also represented Catalonia, the ...

was part of the national squad.

ASEAN Championship

The Philippines participated in every edition of the AFF Championship except the 2008 edition in which the team failed to qualify for the final tournament. Their first match in the tournament was a 0–5 defeat handed by

in 1996 edition. Freddy Gonzalez scored the first goal for the Philippines in the tournament in a 1–3 defeat, also to Thailand in the 1998 edition.

Emelio Caligdong Emelio "Chieffy" Asada Caligdong (born September 28, 1982) is a Filipino Association football, football Manager (association football), head coach and former soccer player, player. He is currently the head coach of the Ontario Development Leag ...

made a brace in the national team's 2–1 victory against

Timor Leste Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the coastal exclave of Oecusse in the island's northwest, and ...

in the 2004 edition. The victory was the first for the Philippines in the AFF Championship. The national team fared poorly during the first seven editions of the ASEAN Championships from

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

losing 19 out of 21 matches. worst defeat at the tournament was the 1–13 match against Indonesia at the

2002 AFF Championship The 2002 AFF Championship, officially known as the 2002 Tiger Cup, was co-hosted by Indonesia and Singapore from 15 to 29 December 2002 and participated by all national teams of the member associations of the ASEAN Football Federation entered e ...

which was also remains the highest scoreline in the tournament as of 2020. The national team made to its first semi-finals at the

Southeast Asian Games

The senior national team managed to reach the semi-finals of the football tournament of the Southeast Asian Games before the football was made into an under-23 tournament.

Minor tournaments

The Philippines participated at numerous minor friendly tournaments. Aside from other national teams, the Philippine nationals also faced selection teams and club sides from other nations at some of these tournaments. The team made a podium finish, placing not below third place, at the

Japanese Empire The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From 1910 to ...

-sanctioned East Asian Games in 1940, the Long Teng Cup (

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

) held in Taiwan, and all three editions of the Philippine Peace Cup (

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

and

) hosted by the home country.

Regional record

Honors

Continental

** Runners-up (1):

** Third place (1):

Regional

** Gold medal (1):

** Silver medal (6):

1915 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January *January – British physicist Sir Joseph Larmor publishes his observations on "The Influence of Local Atmospheric Cooling on Astronomical Refraction". *January 1 * ...

1919 Events January * January 1 ** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (later Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. ** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off th ...

1921 Events January * January 2 ** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in First Brazilian Republic, Brazil. ** The Spanish lin ...

1923 In Greece, this year contained only 352 days as 13 days was skipped to achieve the calendrical switch from Julian to Gregorian Calendar. It happened there that Wednesday, 15 February ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Thursday, 1 March ' ...

1925 Events January * January 1 – The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria (1925–1930), State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini m ...

** Bronze medal (3):

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the BBC, British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith, 1st Baron Reith, John Reith becomes the first ...

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be on J ...

Friendly

* Philippine Peace Cup ** Winners:

King's Cup King's Cup (incl. translations), may refer to: Sports Football * Copa del Rey, Spanish for "King's Cup," the main national knockout tournament in men's football * King's Cup (Bahrain), the premier national knockout football tournament * King's ...

** Third place:

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

Awards

* ASEAN Championship Fair Play Award: 2010

Summary

Only official senior honours are included, according to ''FIFA statutes'' (competitions organized/recognized by

or an affiliated confederation).

Notes

References

External links

Philippine Football Federation

at AFC
Philippines
at

Philippines – World football elo ratings
at ELOratings.net * * * {{National sports teams of the Philippines Asian national association football teams 1913 establishments in the Philippines National sports teams established in 1913