THE Philippine national men’s football team, getting ready for the ASEAN Football Federation-Mitsubishi Electric Cup Championships, is in Group A of the third and final round of the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 Qualifiers.
The Filipino side has been bunched with Tajikistan, Maldives, and Timor-Leste following a draw that was made on Monday at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
They will play in a home-and-away format, with the Filipinos first facing Maldives on March 26 and November 18, 2025, before tackling Tajikistan on June 10, 2025, and March 31, 2026.
With Timor-Leste, their matches are set on October 9 and 14, 2025.
Group B is made up of Lebanon, Yemen, Bhutan, and Brunei Darussalam, while Group C has India, Hong Kong, Singapore and Bangladesh. Group D will have Thailand, Turkmenistan, Chinese Taipei, and Sri Lanka.
Group E will consist of Syria, Afghanistan, Myanmar, and Pakistan, while Vietnam, Malaysia, Nepal, and Laos complete Group F.
The winners of each bracket will make it to the 2027 AFC Asian Cup.
So far, 18 teams have qualified, including Saudi Arabia as hosts, Australia, Iraq, Iran, Uzbekistan, Qatar, UAE, Japan, South Korea, Oman, Palestine, Bahrain, Jordan, China, Indonesia, North Korea, Kuwait, and Kyrgyzstan.
The Philippines will be led by 10-year veteran Amani Aguinaldo, who is part of a 40-man pool that is being prepared for the ASEAN Football Federation-Mitsubishi Electric Cup Championships in late December.
