Philippine men’s national football team head coach Tom Saintfiet was the first to humbly apologize and take accountability for the Nationals’ lopsided defeat in his home match debut at the helm. 

On Tuesday night, March 26, the Philippines suffered a stinging 5-0 loss at the hands of the visiting Iraq side in front of the expectant 10,000-strong home crowd in the second round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifiers. 

Under the guidance of the 50-year-old Belgian, the Philippines may have ended up losing back-to-back games, but was significantly moving better as a team – showing the fans a glimpse of a bright future and what’s in store should the program remain consistent.

“Biggest defeat ever in my life as a coach. As a youth player, I lost big sometimes but as a coach there was not much experience in losing in these numbers,” Saintfiet said. 

“I’m very disappointed but I am also very sorry. I would like to start by saying my apologies to the thousands of fans who were at the stadium and also those watching at home

“My apologies for the big defeat. And also sending my thanks for the big support from the fans. They were behind us for the whole 90 minutes.”

In Saintfiet’s coaching debut last week, the Filipinos flew to Iraq to resume action in the tournament where captain and keeper Neil Etheridge nearly had a clean sheet before conceding a late goal in the 83rd minute. 

With back-to-back losses against Iraq, the Pinoy booters are now in a must-win situation with two road games ahead in June against Vietnam and Indonesia. 

Under then returning Michael Weiss, the Filipinos fell to the Vietnamese, 2-0, to open the tournament before settling for a draw against the Indonesians the following game in November last year. 

Should the Philippines win in big numbers against second seeded Indonesia and third-running Vietnam while Iraq sweeps its two remaining games, the Filipinos can still advance to the third round. 

“I can tell you we’re still in the running, how strange it must sound. If we get some points, we can beat Indonesia in the second spot,” Saintfiet said. 

“If Iraq defeats Vietnam and Indonesia and we win against them, then we can be still ahead of Indonesia in the standings. As long as we have hope, as  long as we are alive, we are not dead. For me, it was an interesting week, I’m very satisfied with the federation, organization, we also had a great camp,” he furthered. 

Meanwhile the decisive win for world No. 70 Iraq meant it has qualified to the next round following four straight wins in Group F, while Indonesia boasts two wins with a lone draw and loss to stay in the solo second spot. 

If all else fails, the Philippines is looking at a relegation to the AFC Asian Cup and chances of setting foot in the biggest football showpiece might be shelved for another FIFA cycle. 

Despite the huge deficit of -8 goal difference at the bottom of the standings, Saintfiet, after only a month at the touchline, is positive of the Filipinos’ chances however stacked the odds are. 

“I’m very satisfied with the players, only today in some moments and some situations, we were not up to level with this opponent. And that’s something to learn from. We lost the battle, but we are still in the war. We have to win two more battles to win this war,” he concluded.