The Philippine Under-15 Men’s National Football Team (PMNFT U15) closed Group F of the inaugural FIFA U15 World Cup & Festival in Baku, Azerbaijan with two consecutive wins capped by an 8-1 rout of Curaçao on Tuesday.
The Philippines rebounded from three losses against Morocco (2-0), Liberia (1-0), and Costa Rica (7-1) to win two on the final match day of the group stage.
Sylar Alcantara, formerly of Ateneo Grade School now based in Barcelona, scored the Philippines’ first goal in the U15 World Cup late in the Costa Rica game, with Cavite’s Dan Becera issuing the assist, which set the tone for a Filipino fightback heading to the final group games.
In the afternoon session on Monday, PMNFT U15 tasted its first win, 1-0, against Central American side Belize. Full-back Frank Jonas Oliverio of Makati FC/Pontevedra, Negros Occidental scored the lone goal off an 1v1 aggressive attack from the left flank after receiving a long ball from Panabo City’s Juan Carlo Morales. Goalkeeper Jordan Tan of Makati FC and the Philippine backline made crucial stops against the Belizean attack to secure the three points.
In the evening session, PMNFT U15 opened the floodgates against Caribbean side Curaçao.
Oliverio’s teammate in Makati FC and Pontevedra John Carlo Rendon opened the scoring in the seventh minute off fellow Negrense John Zhian Enario, followed by a lob from far right by La Salle Zobel’s Matthew Zamora that bounced inside the goal.
After conceding one in the ninth minute, the Philippines never turned back after LA Galaxy Academy’s Quito Pascual scored off the quick buildup, with Rendon issuing the quick assist from the middle. Rendon then completed his brace to end the first half off an Enario back pass.
Pascual, attacking hard from the right wing, forced a Curaçao own goal in the 25th minute as La Salle-Dasmarinas striker Josef Adrien Peña scored in the transition off Alcantara’s forward pass in the 33rd minute.
Barotac Nuevo’s Nathan Caligdong, nephew of football legend Chieffy Caligdong, ended the game with a brace, scoring a penalty kick and a tap-in off Alcantara’s miss in the dying seconds.
PMNFT U15 closed the group with six points for fourth place. They will proceed to Tier D for a chance to enter the top 100 of FIFA’s biggest tournament ever comprised of 189 nations.