Homegrown PH U15 down Aruba, cap FIFA debut vs Andorra

BAKU, Azerbaijan — The Philippine Under-15 Men’s National Football Team (PMNFT U15) beat Aruba, 5-2, on Thursday for its fourth win at the inaugural FIFA U15 World Cup & Festival.

The victory sets up a match against Andorra for 109th place on Friday.

The Aruba game was the team’s penultimate match in what the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) called FIFA’s largest world competition ever.

The tournament runs Oct. 24 to 30 and gathered teams from 189 of FIFA’s 211 member associations.

Matches are played eight-a-side (8v8), in two 20-minute halves with a five-minute break.

Quito Pascual of the LA Galaxy Academy scored twice to help the Philippines recover from an early deficit.

Fellow U.S.-based Micah Alva added a goal at the start of the second half. Cavite’s Dan Becera and Barcelona-based Sylar Alcantara scored late.

Aruba winger Tysheron Commijs broke into the final third and scored the opener in the 10th minute.

Pascual equalized in the 19th minute. A long kick-in from the back right found him running at the top of the box, and he finished with his left foot.

Alva put the Philippines ahead at the start of the second half. He found space on the right side of the goal, and his shot deflected off an Aruban defender.

Jaymilliano Herkul tied the game, 2-2, for Aruba in the 24th minute with a shot from near the penalty spot.

Pascual restored the lead in the 28th minute, again with a left-footed strike off a kick-in from the right.

Becera pushed through to score in the 32nd minute off Jonas Oliverio’s long ball.

Alcantara completed the scoring with a left-footed shot in a transition attack, assisted by Oliverio from midfield.

Goalkeeper Jordan Tan then saved a shot from Herkul to stop an Aruban counterattack.

“I’m really proud of the teams’ performance. The players worked really hard for this win, and they fully deserved it,” Philippine head coach Roxy Dorlas told pff.org.ph. “We moved the ball around much better and controlled the tempo of the game. The big difference in this game was that we took our chances and scored five goals.”

The win snapped a two-game losing streak in Tier D of the classification round.

The Philippines opened Tier D with a 2-0 win over Macau on Wednesday afternoon, its third straight victory.

It lost to Central Asian rival Tajikistan, 3-0, that night.

Thursday’s first game, against Zimbabwe, ended in a 3-2 loss after the Philippines led 2-0.

Alcantara scored in the fifth minute off Adrien Peña’s forward pass. Becera doubled the lead in the 22nd minute, getting past two defenders on a run.

Zimbabwe scored from set pieces in the 27th and 34th minutes to tie the game.

Its winner came on the final possession. Team captain Marlon Zuruvi was left open on the right side of the goal after a Filipino clearance of Ngoni Tombo’s shot.

The Philippines reached the classification round after finishing fourth in Group F with six points.

It beat Belize, 1-0, and closed the group stage with an 8-1 victory over Curacao.

The campaign opened against Morocco at the Hovsan Competition Complex.

In its five group matches, the team faced opponents from Africa and Central America, teams the Philippines rarely meets.

The PFF sent a mostly homegrown squad drawn from regional football associations (RFAs), schools, and clubs.

Several players took part in the 2026 PFF U16 National Championship in Bago City, Negros Occidental, in May.

After the group stage, PFF President John Anthony Gutierrez said the results show where the national youth program stands.

“Our U15s’ performance tells us that our homegrowns, when given a platform, can compete well against opponents from other continents. The group stage was a litmus test of how far our local talents can go in the global stage,” Gutierrez said.

“Because of FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s push for a tournament of this scale, we have a clearer vision in building a system that produces world-class youth athletes from our RFAs and domestic clubs who can stand alongside our heritage talents abroad in future international competitions,” he said.

Gutierrez praised the players for their attitude through a demanding schedule.

“These boys never backed down. They faced strong, unfamiliar teams, played five matches in three days, and kept fighting. That attitude is what we want in every Philippine national team,” he said.

Gutierrez was at the FIFA World Cup in June 2026, when Infantino announced the staging of the inaugural U15 World Cup. He said an event with 189 participating member associations is significant for young Filipino players.

“Our youth players have competed in a global tournament, against teams from around the world. That kind of exposure was out of reach for most Filipinos in the past. We thank FIFA for creating this event because now, we can play against and learn from countries from distant lands,” he said.

The PFF and the Department of Education (DepEd) implemented the 8v8 format at home early this year.

It was used in the Palarong Pambansa elementary football tournament in May 2026. It is also used in the under-13 and under-11 divisions of the ongoing PFF RFA Youth League.

“Eight-a-side gives young players more touches, more decisions, and more chances to score. If we want to do well internationally, our players need to grow up in this format. That is why we pushed for it in the Palaro and in youth leagues as early as 2024,” Gutierrez said.

“To the players, Coach Roxy Dorlas and the coaching staff, your families and our fans, thank you. Finish this tournament with the same effort you showed against Belize and Curacao. Whatever the result in the classification stage, you have already given Philippine football something to build on, and an unforgettable experience that inspires us,” he said.

Dorlas said the team bounced back quickly from the Zimbabwe loss.

“After the narrow defeat against Zimbabwe earlier in the day, they recovered well, stayed motivated, and prepared themselves for this game,” Dorlas said. “I reminded the players that we still have 1 more game left, so we need to stay focused and finish the tournament strong. Tomorrow, we face Andorra, and if we show the same desire, intensity, and commitment as we did today, I’m confident we can finish the competition with another positive result.” (PFF)