PH Azkals settles for 1-1 draw with Indonesia

MANILA, Philippines – A win remained elusive for the Philippines in the joint 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2027 AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers.

Patrick Reichelt's first-half goal wasn't enough to lift the Azkals past the visiting Indonesia, which got one back in the second half for a one-all draw at the Rizal Memorial Stadium on Tuesday night, November 21.

"I cannot believe after how we invested in the last two games we got only one point. We should have gotten 4 points. The Vietnam match was supposed to be a draw, and in the first half, he had to bury the game with so many chances. I mean, how many chances were you supposed to have?" Hans Michael Weiss said in a press conference after the game.

"So we sit here with a long face, and we're sad," he added.

Coming off a 2-0 defeat against Vietnam last Thursday in the same venue, the Philippines took a point with a -2 goal difference to stay in third place in Group F.

Indonesia, meanwhile, was fourth with an identical one loss, one draw record as the nationals but with an inferior -4 GD after losing to Iraq, 5-1, in Matchday 1.

Weiss revamped his starting lineup by replacing Justin Baas and Christian Rontini with Kevin Ingreso and Carli de Murga.

The Azkals had three scoring chances in a row within the first 15 minutes but lacked the clinical finishing to get the job done. Off a counter-attack, Reichelt's shot went wide in the 12th minute, followed by a near own goal by an Indonesian defender behind the aggressive play of Mike Ott. Santiago Rublico couldn't also convert his attempt inside the penalty box.

Reichelt then drew first blood off a left-footed strike in the 23rd minute for his 15th international goal for the home team while playing in front of almost 10,000 cheering and booing crowd.

This became possible thanks to Ingreso's assist that perfectly found the running Kuala Lumpur City forward, who struck his shot into the bottom corner for a one-nil advantage heading to the half-time break.

OJ Porteria almost doubled the Azkals' advantage in the 40th minute, but his volley strike missed the mark.

Things changed in the second half as the Philippines became passive, allowing the relentless Tim Garuda to find their rhythm.

In the 70th minute, Saddil Ramdani negated a Reichelt winner after leaving Philippine goalkeeper Neil Etheridge frozen with his equalizer off the left foot.

The score stayed still until the final whistle despite Weiss' decision to bring Baas and Pocholo Bugas in after conceding the game-tying goal.

This is the fourth time in their nine head-to-head encounters that both squads settled for a draw.

The second round of the World Cup-Asian Cup Qualifiers will be in March 2026, with the 138th-ranked Philippines facing Iraq, world number 68, in back-to-back assignments.

The Azkals will visit the Lions of Mesopotamia on March 21 before hosting the same opponent on March 26 in RMS.