NAGOYA, Japan — The Philippine men’s under-23 football team closed out its campaign at the 2026 Asian Games with a milestone 2-1 victory against Kuwait on Tuesday, September 22, snapping a 68-year drought in the continental tournament.
Santiago Rublico opened the scoring for the Philippines early in the match, finding the net in the 19th minute. Kuwait found an equalizer in the 66th minute following an own goal by Scott Woods. However, Andres Aldeguer secured the win for the Filipinos by converting a penalty during stoppage time.
The victory marks the country’s first men’s football win at the Asian Games since the 1958 edition in Tokyo, where the Philippines defeated host nation Japan 1-0.
Following the match, the Philippine Football Federation celebrated the result online.
“And we end our campaign winning!” the PFF wrote. “The Philippines wins its first Asian Games men’s football game since the 1958 Tokyo Games, making history again in Japan.”
“Congratulations to our Men’s U23 National Team! Thank you for all your effort and sacrifice for our country,” the organization added.
The victory capped a challenging tournament run for the U23 squad, which began with a 5-1 loss to Uzbekistan followed by a 2-0 defeat against Vietnam. Although the team did not advance to the knockout stage, it concluded its Asian Games appearance with a landmark win.