AN own goal doomed the Philippines but Nicholas Guimaraes fine showing at goal had the Philippines U23 losing by just a goal to home team Indonesia at a raucous Gelora Bung Karno Stadium on July 18, 2025.
The loss dropped the Philippines to second at three points, trailing the home team, which has six points.
Malaysia, which defeated Brunei 7-1, is third with three points, losing the second spot to the Philippines U23 on head-to-head.
Guimaraes was tested early and pulled a couple of saves off Rayhan Hannan before disaster struck in the 23rd. Jaime Rosquillo, who started for the first time in the tournament, tried to head off a long throw but it hit the bar and bounced into the goal.
The gift seemed to have fired the Indonesians but the home team couldn’t get past the sturdy Guimaraes, who had six saves in the match.
Indonesia could have doubled its lead in the 73rd as Guimaraes was caught off position, but Hannan took his sweet time with his shot, allowing the keeper to recover and parry off the attempt.
Four minutes later, the Philippines had its best chance with Jian Caraig getting the ball just inside the box, but his harried turn-and-shoot was saved by the keeper.
The Philippines will try to close out its campaign on Monday against Brunei and will be hoping for a solid win to advance to the semifinal round as the best second-ranked team.
In Group B, Cambodia and Laos both have one points, while Vietnam is third and is yet to play. In Group C, Myanmar and Timor Leste also share a point with Thailand still to play.