00:00The Philippine Men's National Football Team will play in the Legua of the ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2024 Semi-Finals against Thailand tonight.
00:10Let's go back to Darrell Oclares.
00:17Miracle in Manila was witnessed by more than 7,000 Filipino football fans at the Rizal Memorial Stadium on Friday night.
00:25This is after the Philippine Men's National Football Team won 2-1 in the Legua of the ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2024 Semi-Finals against the defending champions, Thailand.
00:40In the first half, Sandro Reyes scored a goal in the 21st minute to give the Philippines an advantage in the first half since 2018.
00:54Thailand didn't just let go of the lead of Sofanan Borirat who scored a goal three minutes before halftime.
01:04In the second half, both teams became more aggressive as the deadlock was broken several times.
01:11But the wind changed in the extra five minutes after the play was given away by the home team led by Head Coach Albert Capillas.
01:22From Zico Bailey's free kick to Paul Tabinas, a game-winning header from Kike Linares was the key to the Philippines' first win in the AFF Tournament Semi-Finals.
01:36This was also the country's first victory against Thailand after 52 years.
01:43I'm very happy for the players because they never give up.
01:49We handled together, we never lost the hope because this team, they are fighters, they believe, they fight so much for this country.
01:58I'm so proud for them and the win at the end, I think, give us what we deserve. I'm very happy.
02:09According to the player of the match, Reyes, they gave up in the semis.
02:13The group stage was a bitter experience where they lost one game and three goals.
02:19We had to suffer, we suffered the entire group stage.
02:22And I think the group stage was a perfect practice for today because we suffered a lot.
02:27And we found a way to get out of all of those hurdles.
02:31We went through hell and we came out.
02:34The target of the country is to win the second leg of the semi-finals in Bangkok on December 30 to advance to the finals of the tournament for the first time.
02:44Daryl Oclares for Pambansang TV in Bagong, Philippines.
