THE Philippines squandered a big opportunity and lost to Tajikistan in the battle for third place in the 2024 Merdeka Cup at the Bukit Jalil Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Afer playing goalless, the two teams went into penalties where Tajikistan prevailed, 4-3.
Missed penalty kicks by Jefferson Tabinas and Jarvey Gayoso, both hitting the crossbar to start the shootout, dug the Philippines into a hole. It turned out to the only misses in the shootout with Alisher Shukurov serving the winner for Tajikistan.
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Kevin Ray Mendoza, who got the nod as the goalkeeper for the match with Neil Etheridge, came through with a save in Tajikistan’s second penalty kick, but the PMNT kickers couldn't finish the job, sending the Filipinos winless in the tournament.
Paul Tabinas, Alex Monis, and Christian Rontini scored the goals during the shootout for the Philippines. Akhtam Nazarov, Daler Sharipov, and Manuchehr Safarov got Tajikistan the third place with their spot kicks.
PMNT had its moments in the match with a couple of scoring chances in the second half, but Tajikistan goalkeeper Oleg Baklov fought off those opportunities to keep a clean sheet.
In its first appearance in the Merdeka Cup since 1972, PMNT was also defeated by host Malaysia, 2-1, in its first match despite scoring the first goal courtesy of Tabinas last Thursday.
Norman Fegidero took over as interim coach after Tom Saintfiet accepted a head coaching job at Mali days before the Merdeka Cup.
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