AFTER making their semifinal appearance in the AFF U23 Championships for the first time, members of the national U23 team are not short on confidence as they take on defending champion Vietnam at 4 p.m. on July 25, 2025.
“No underdogs, we are always a 100 percent confident with our team that in every tournament we are in, we can reach the final,” said midfilder John Lucero during the pre-match press conference on July 24, 2025.
Lucero and the U23 squad made the final four for the first time after finishing as the best second-ranked team among the three groups. The Philippines tallied six points in the group stage with identical 2-0 wins over Malaysia and Brunei bookending a 1-0 loss to host Indonesia.
“For us in every tournament that we enter, we try to reach as far as we can, semis or finals and now we have done that, tomorrow we will have a good game,” said Lucero. “As a player, as a team, we believe in ourselves and now, we need more respect. Every country or team has a fair chance, everyone must have that respect.
It’s a historic moment and one that we were planning for and had belief.
PHL U23 coach Garrath McPherson on making the knockout stage.
Vietnam, the two-time champion, blanked Laos on July 19 and helped the Philippines qualify to the knockout stage after beating Cambodia, 2-1, on July 22.
Meanwhile, head coach Garrath McPherson expects his team to play better now that they are in the knockout stage.
“The one thing that this team has shown is they come together more and more with everyday they spend together. I expect this group to be better again in the next game. It’s a historic moment and one that we were planning for and had belief, it’s nice to arrive in the knockout stages,” said McPherson.