AFF Cup 2024: Philippines stuns defending champion Thailand in ASEAN Championship semifinal first leg, wins 2-1

AFF Cup 2024: Philippines stuns defending champion Thailand in ASEAN Championship semifinal first leg, wins 2-1

Kike Linares scored the winner in second-half stoppage time as Philippines beat defending champion Thailand 2-1 in the first leg of the ASEAN Championship semifinal, at the Rizal Memorial Stadium here on Friday.

It was the first win for Philippines against Thailand in over half a century, with the last win coming in 1972, a 1-0 victory at the Jakarta Anniversary Tournament.

Sandro Reyes gave the hosts the lead in the 21st minute, prompting a huge cheer as the underdog found the net. But Suphanan Bureerat restored parity in the last minutes of the first half.

In the second half, with the contest in the balance, the match followed the tale of the other semifinal between Singapore and Vietnam as the winner was decided in the dying moments of the match.

Linares headed the ball into the net in the fifth minute of injury time as Thailand was stunned in a brilliant underdog story in Manila. The hosts have had an impressive stint in the ASEAN Championship this year, drawing with higher-ranked Vietnam and then beating Indonesia and Thailand, also ranked over them.

The return leg of the semifinal is scheduled at the Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok three days later.