The Philippine women's national football team celebrates after beating Malaysia in the 2025 Southeast Asian Games, December 11, 2025 at the IPE Chonburi Stadium in Chonburi, Thailand. PFF-PWNFT
The country's football teams have already made history in the 2025 Southeast Asian Games in Thailand.
For the first time, both the men's and women's squads advanced to the semifinal stage of the biennial meet, with a chance to make it to the podium.
"First time. It's never happened before," said Philippine Football Federation president John Gutierrez on Thursday night, after the Filipinas routed Malaysia, 6-0, to book their place in the knockout round.
READ: Filipinas clobber Malaysia to book place in football semis
This marks the Filipinas' return to the semifinals after clinching bronze in 2021 in Cambodia. They will play host Thailand in the semifinals on Sunday at the Chonburi Daikin Stadium.
Meanwhile, the men's Under-22 squad swept their assignments in Group C to make it to the semifinals for the first time since 1991. They will play Vietnam on Monday at the Rajamangala Stadium, with a ticket to the gold medal match at stake.
"We're very happy about that," Gutierrez said of the national teams' achievements.
"But it's not over yet. We can't be complacent. We still have to do our work. We want to be in the finals for both men's and women's. We have to be fully prepared," he added.
"Congratulations to the Philippine nation for accomplishing the feat (historic semis in both divisions). It may not be the end goal yet. But hopefully we'll get there."
READ: PH men through to football semis after beating Indonesia
Meanwhile, Filipinas head coach Mark Torcaso is pleased with how his team has progressed. The women's team dropped a heartbreaker to Myanmar in their first game, 1-2, but stunned defending champion Vietnam to stay in the hunt before showing their class against Malaysia in a must-win affair.
"We didn't make the last SEA Games semifinal, so to do this now feels really special. It also helps with our preparations for the Asian Cup—playing a lot of games in a short amount of time," said Torcaso.
"While we want to win a medal here, this is also fantastic preparation for the young players who are getting regular minutes," he added.
"To do this with this group and get into the semifinals of the SEA Games is outstanding," he also said.